Myanmar’s Rohingyas:victims of a democracy still under military sway

As the forced expulsion of the Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar gathers pace and attracts increasing international condemnation, it’s clear that the world either ignores or misunderstands the truth behind Myanmar’s politics. The violent campaign against the Rohingyas is not the disease, but merely a symptom of a political system that has been failing for decades. When Aung Yan Suu Kyi took office in 2016, it was widely perceived as heralding a new democracy, which transferred power from an authoritarian military regime and handed it back to the people. Suu Kyi’s election became synonymous with the success of peaceful resistance in the name of freedom, a triumph over a long-embedded and despotic junta. But in reality, nothing changed – and the rapidly escalating Rohingya crisis confirms that the supposed transfer of power has done little to resolve the tensions in the civil-military relationship