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From Our Own Correspondent: Myanmar: One Year Under Military Rule

05/02/2022

Myanmar: One Year Under Military Rule

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent, Myanmar: One Year Under Military Rule

A year after Myanmar's government fell to a coup, protest and armed resistance continue.

Protest and resistance to Myanmar's coup leaders, and another coup, in Burkina Faso. Also, Tonga's anxious ex-pats, Syria's Islamic State prison break, and a return to Afghanistan.

Myanmar this week marked one year since its democratically-elected government was overthrown by a coup. The generals who took over have promised to restore democracy, “once the emergency is over.” However, protestors calling for democracy have been arrested and beaten, while the army stands accused of murdering more than a thousand civilians, in its efforts to quash opposition to military rule. Jonathan Head has spoken to some of those still resisting the junta.

In the year since Myanmar’s military coup, three countries in West Africa have also suffered the same fate: Mali, Guinea, and most recently, Burkina Faso. The coup leaders there have explained that they took over because the government was failing to tackle Islamist militants.  Henry Wilkins tried to report on what was going on, but found himself arrested at gunpoint.

When a volcano erupted off the Pacific Island of Tonga, it triggered a tsunami and covered the island in ash. It also cut the underwater cable which connects Tonga to the outside world, meaning no phone-calls or internet were possible. This was a particular cause of concern for Tongans abroad, anxious to know about the welfare of friends and family. They turned to a small online broadcaster, operating from the outskirts of Brisbane, Australia. Simon Atkinson paid it a visit.

US special forces this week raided the home of Islamic State's leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. It appears he then blew himself up, along with members of his family. This was only a month since al-Qurayshi was held responsible for Islamic State's attack on a prison in Syria, where members of the group were held. The resulting battle went on for more than a week, and Shelly Kittleson has managed to hear from some of those who witnessed it.

Yalda Hakim was six months old, when her family fled Afghanistan. Going back there recently, she found dramatic changes since her last visit. Under Taliban rule, there have been widespread reports of Taliban soldiers carrying out summary executions. And when she spoke to women determined to maintain their role in the workplace and wider society, she found their efforts were proving dangerous, and potentially fatal.

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