Myanmar's crisis and emerging traps

In February last year, a few days after the Tatmadaw staged a coup to remove the civilian-elected government, local people burn a portrait of army chief General Min Aung Hlaing. (Photo: Reuters)

Today is the first anniversary of the Feb 1 seizure of power by the Tatmadaw in Nay Pyi Taw. Over the past 12 months, the overall situation in Myanmar has gone into a downward spiral and all the progress and positive developments made since 2011, when the country proudly opened up, have gone into the dustbin.

Now, the new ruler, the State Administrative Council (SAC), is facing difficult challenges that will tear down the very fabric of Myanmar's society if no compromises can be found in the near future. The regime's brutality over the past year has further deepened anti-SAC sentiment. If the situation in the Year of the Tiger remains as stalled as it was in the previous year, the prospects for peace, even with Asean engagement at full throttle, in the coming years will be of little value.