Myanmar: Military Authorities Suspend 125,000 Teachers for Opposing Coup
Because of the ongoing violence and dictatorship, parents have largely chosen to keep their children out of school.
A teacher from Yangon University of Education holds a sign with a red ribbon while taking part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, February 5, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Stringer/File Photo
World6 hours ago
Myanmar: More than 125,000 school teachers in Myanmar have been suspended by the military authorities for joining a civil disobedience movement to oppose the military coup in February, an official of the Myanmar Teachers‘ Federation said.
The suspensions have come days before the start of a new school year, which some teachers and parents are boycotting as part of the campaign that has paralysed the country since the coup cut short a decade of democratic reforms.
Insights from Jane Ferguson.
March 16, 2021
Anti-coup protesters stage a sit-in protest after riot policemen blocked their march in Mandalay, Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021.
Credit: AP Photo
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Trans-Pacific View author Mercy Kuo regularly engages subject-matter experts, policy practitioners, and strategic thinkers across the globe for their diverse insights into U.S. Asia policy. This conversation with Dr. Jane Ferguson – senior lecturer in Anthropology and Southeast Asian History in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, at the Australian National University, and the author of the forthcoming book “Repossessing Shanland: Myanmar, Thailand and a Nation-State Deferred” – is the 263rd in “The Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”
Security forces are trying to stifle an ongoing civil disobedience movement aimed at the "full shutdown" of Myanmar's economy following the military takeover of the government.
Myanmar security forces killed two anti-coup protesters on Monday, continuing a heavy-handed crackdown.
March 09, 2021
Protesters take positions behind a makeshift barricade as armed riot policemen gather in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, March 8, 2021.
Credit: AP Photo
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Security forces shot dead two people in northern Myanmar on March 8, local media reported, as the military government continued its attempt to stamp out opposition to its February 1 coup.
The Irrawaddy newspaper said the victims were shot in the head during anti-coup protests in Myitkyina in Kachin State. Graphic video on social media showed protesters in the street backing away from tear gas, responding with rocks, then fleeing after a fusillade of what seemed to be automatic gunfire.