Protesters in Yangon (February 6, 2021). Photo by Maung Sun, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
After the 2021's coup in Myanmar, more than a year has passed.
Many countries, including the United States, condemned Myanmar's military regime and countered it with economic sanctions and other measures. However, the democratization process that has been underway since the 2010s has not been restored. Meanwhile, the military junta continues to repress its citizens. Death tolls continue to rise almost every day.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (the AAPP Burma), an activist group, has been recording every death and the arrested and publishing it on the daily basis. By April 30, more than 1800 people had reportedly been killed in the post-coup military crackdown.
This project aims to visualize the AAPP's list as of April 15 and to tell the stories of those who fell. Chronological analysis of the list indicates that the military regime has increased repression, not lessened, over the past year.
February 2021: the Return of Military Rule
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Thirteen of the 27 people who died in the first month of the coup were young people aged between 10 and 30.
Mya Thwe Thwe Khaing, a female student, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the hospital. Although the security forces claimed they did not use lethal weapons, her helmet was reportedly penetrated by an object.
One year ago, Ma Mya Thwet Thwet Khine became the first protester to have been killed by Myanmar junta forces following the coup. She had been shot in the head 10 days earlier in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw. More than 1,100 have now joined her. https://t.co/PmDOaSnRJ7pic.twitter.com/sz0hfhBWT5
During these two months alone, 693 people lost their lives. More than half of these deaths occurred in Yangon, the largest city, and Mandalay, the second-largest city. Among the Fatalities in these cities, the 131 were young, ranging in age from 10 to 30.
Among them was 19-years-old Kyal Sin, who was called an “Angel” by her friends. On March 3, she was killed while attending the protest in Mandalay. She voted in the 2020 election for the first time, hoping for better prospects for the country.
RIP Ma Kyal Sin. One of many shot by the Myanmar military today. I'm so sad & wish that I could do more than paint these pictures. Int'l community don't look away. Keep the pressure on. It is the least we can do for the people of Myanmar. #MilkTeaAlliance#WhatsHappeningInMyanmarpic.twitter.com/FsjfUmYhf1
The military regime's repression has not softened despite fewer deaths than in March and April. More than half of those killed during this period were shot and killed by military forces.
Among them, at the end of July, at least 12 people were tortured and killed in a town, including a 14-year-old child.
Must watch what the illegal Myanmar junta continues to do. 👇 BBC News - Tortured to death: Myanmar mass killings revealedhttps://t.co/9SfcD2RFqc
The military junta had consolidated its control in urban areas such as Yangon but continued to attack supporters of the democratic government in provinces. By this time, they even targeted civilian families, and burned villages.
During this period, at least 109 people were killed in a raid, 13 of them under the age of 20. On September 20, five family members of the alleged supporters of the democratic regime were killed in a village; on October 1, another five people died in a village in the Sagaing region. In these incidents, a one-year-old and a five-year-old died (*WARNING* This link contains graphic images that may be disturbing to viewers)..
January to mid-April 2022: the Rising Insurgency
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Immediately after the coup, most of the deaths were in urban areas such as Yangon, but by 2022, the number of casualties in rural areas had increased significantly. This was due to the fact that many ethnic minorities live in these areas, which are at odds with the military regime.
Of those who died during this period, more than 200 died in Sagaing and Magway Regions. In these provinces, insurgency groups are also taking up arms and fighting the national army. All those who died were members of the People's Defense Force and the Chin National Front, ethnic Chin’s organizations, were killed in these two provinces.
Junta troops raided Inma Village in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township on Saturday, killing a villager and torching more than 70 houses. More than 100 houses have been destroyed in the 150-household village in two junta raids. (Photo: CJ) pic.twitter.com/nIBGAVXQzT
In addition, the data includes people with little information about how they died. Seven of them were arrested or detained by the military regime or died in prison.
Shwe Yoon Eain died at age 2 in prison. Due to her mother's detention, she was not able to receive proper medical treatment in prison. She reportedly died in her mother's arm.
Methodology: This project uses the AAPP's data published as of April 15. Fatalities are counted based on the date of the incident. The details of those who were killed are derived from the AAPP's data and media articles. Since their age is calculated in Myanmar's traditional manner, it may differ from media reports. The number of the deceased might be undercounted because of the scale of the incidents.
This story was done for Data Studio, a class in the Columbia Journalism School. You can view source code for this project in the GitHub repository here.
