Police Roles and Political Protests in the Post-Military Coup of Myanmar

• In Event: Policing in Asia (Organized and Sponsored by Korean Society of Criminology in America (KoSCA), Association of Chinese Criminology and Criminal Justice in the United States (ACCCJ), and Division of International Criminology (DIC))

Abstract

Police as an institution is charged with crime fighting and order maintenance and must respond to political and social demands, particularly during a tumultuous era of dramatic political and social changes. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar underwent a coup when leaders of its military (Tatmadaw) overturned a democratically elected civilian-led government and declared a state of emergency. Using newly issued decrees and revised criminal laws, the military sanctioned political protests and related activities by methods such as restricting social media activities, and punishing assembly laws violations. Literature suggests that the police, under the military rule, tended to either assume a subsumed role by the military rather than operating as a parallel security unit, or become militarized with military officers assuming a policing role. In either case, the police tended to function as a tool for enforcing military rule. Citing related documents, cases published online, and interviews with selected citizens and protesters who have had personal encounters with the police, this exploratory paper examines the specific roles and functions of Myanmar police during the 2021 military coup. More specifically, the paper addresses the police’s adaptability to militarization by examining if there were any new decrees on police operation, any escalating forces used in combating “crime”, or any struggles in fulfilling its duty of order maintenance. The paper concludes with implications of police roles and adaptations in a transitional, political context.

Authors

• Hong Lu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Khaing Lynn, University of Nevada, Las Vegas