Violence Ensues In Myanmar, While It’s Activists Get Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize
February 1st, 2022 marked the anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar that terrorized and shook its residents to the core. On the night of February 1st, 2021, Myanmar’s military, headed by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, planned the coup d’état.
With a voter fraud allegation on the newly elected party, the military established the National Unity Government.
Since then, the country has been subdued to threats of extreme violence which have escalated the precarious situation even more. As time passed, the junta seems to increase the usage of violent tactics to subdue protests and demonstrations.
Amidst the escalating chaos and unrest, the Nobel Peace Prize nominations for 2022 made every one pause. In a surprising move, Ola Elvestuen, a Norwegian lawmaker proposed the National Unity Government as a nominee. Elvestuen, a parliamentary member of the small Liberal Party, declared that the reason behind the proposal was that the shadow government was the only prevailing legitimate Myanmar government.
In an unprecedented crisis, last year, the junta toppled the National League for Democracy, even when the party had won by a massive landslide. The members of the government-in-exile are still seeking assistance from the rest of the international community.
It is without a doubt that the unexpected military takeover has shrouded the country into massive unrest and turmoil. The death of more than 1500 civilians by armed forces of the self-declared shadow government is alarming.
NUG or National Unity Government mainly comprises of MPs of the NLD or National League for Democracy party, civilians, ethnic minority sections, and dissident lawmakers-in-exile. Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is a member of the National League for Democracy. She has since been kept under strict house arrest at a highly secretive location.
To oppose the vicious murderous intent of the junta, activists have created the CDM or Campaign for Civil Disobedience. Since the coup, the nation has encountered hundreds of strikes, protests, and demonstrations. In turn, the military personnel has used water cannons, sticks, live fire, rubber bullets, and more to subdue the rage.
Apart from the internal conflicts, Myanmar is also facing a crippled economy, a lethal COVID-19 threat, and the collapse of public institutions.
The Nobel Peace Prize nomination for the perpetrators of continued violence is shocking. As the world chooses to look away from the stark reality of Myanmar – maybe the news of this nomination will once again remind the world that Myanmar remains a land of chaos.
