Myanmar has endured the longest ongoing civil war in the world, lasting nearly four score years since gaining independence in 1948. Many viewed the armed conflicts as largely ethnic-based revolts for autonomy. This misinterpretation was exploited by the Myanmar military (pejoratively known as Sit-Tat), which has seized power since 1962 under the guise of defending unity and sovereignty. However, the last coup by General Min Aung Hlaing on February 1, 2021, ironically presented an opportunity for all ethnic groups in Myanmar to uproot the military dictatorship, the root cause of long-standing crises of continued armed struggles, atrocities, and poverty.

The coup was met with strong resistance through widespread, peaceful demonstrations and the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). The brutal crackdown by the military led to the formation of armed resistance across the country, entering a violent new chapter known as the Spring Revolution. This involved a genuine nationwide resistance by all ethnic groups, brought together into a unified front with aligned political objectives and military cooperation. Now in its fourth year, Sit-Tat faces fierce opposition from both established ethnic resistance organizations (EROs) and newly formed Local Defense Forces (LDF) and People’s Defense Force (PDF) under the National Unity Government (NUG). The once-perceived supremacy of the military and its decades-long dominance in Myanmar’s political arena has suffered a colossal defeat and now appears destined for the garbage heap of history.

It is crucial to learn lessons from the American Revolution to the Arab Spring. The former was a revolution against a foreign oppressive ruler, Great Britain, with an overwhelming strategic and military advantage, by attracting the support of Britain’s enemies, France and Spain1. The latter was a failure to replace the repressive autocracies with democracies due to the absence of stable institutions or external assistance2. The Myanmar Spring Revolution is unique in that it is a constellation of opposing forces of justice and injustice, dictatorship and democracy, autonomy of ethnic groups and the ambition of forming a federal union based on equal opportunity, as well as geopolitics caught between the two most populous countries and global tension at the peak of a new cold war between the two superpowers.

The key to victory is for all Myanmar people to have a clear vision of their common goals—what they are fighting against and what they are fighting for—as well as to steer delicate diplomacy in the region and between the superpowers. The goal is not merely to end the military dictatorship, but to fulfill the pursuit of liberty, democracy, peace, and prosperity through justice, equity, harmony, and unity for all ethnic groups in Myanmar.

As the revolution turned the tide from........

© Eurasia Review