Over the past 18 months, the military junta has ruled Myanmar with extreme brutality, driving the country’s economy into the ground and creating a public health and refugee nightmare.
The army has been accused of widespread massacres and has jailed thousands, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It has shown no mercy, recently executing four democracy activists, including one former lawmaker.
Although the military, which has ruled directly or indirectly since 1962, has reportedly massacred members of ethnic opposition groups as well as the Kachin and Rohingya minorities over the years, the executions were actually the first official death sentences carried out in Myanmar in more than 30 years.