February 1 marks a year since the military seized control of Myanmar.
The generals made their move on the day the new parliament – elected the previous November – was due to sit for the first time and all the politicians had congregated in the capital Naypyidaw.
They first detained Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s elected leader, and senior members of her government before announcing their coup.
The move prompted widespread anger in a country, which had been making a gradual, if sometimes stuttering shift, towards democracy.
Protests emerged within days, alongside a mass disobedience movement.
The military has responded with characteristic force and nearly 1,500 people have now been killed in the crackdown, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-profit that has been tracking the unrest.
Frustrated with the lack of progress, some people have taken up arms, and the National Unity Government, established by elected lawmakers and pro-democracy groups, has set up the People’s Defence Force.
A year since the coup and with little sign of international consensus to restore the civilian government, the situation looks increasingly precarious.
The military detains 76-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi and other members of the National League for Democracy, which had been reelected in a landslide election in November 2020.
A state of emergency is declared and army chief Min Aung Hlaing takes control. Aung San Suu Kyi’s location is unknown.
First stirrings of protest. People bang pots and pans and honk car horns in protest against the coup.
Mass civil disobedience is declared with government workers, including teachers and doctors, walking off the job.
The police announce the first charges against Aung San Suu Kyi – the illegal use of Troops kill at least 160 people as the military holds a traditional parade to mark Armed Forces Day.
About 3,000 villagers from eastern Karen State flee into Thailand after the army launches air attacks on territory controlled by the Karen National Union armed group.Aung San Suu Kyi is charged with offences under the colonial-era official secrets law.
Politicians forced out of office by the military announce they have formed a National Unity Government
Min Aung Hlaing travels to Jakarta for a summit with Southeast Asian leaders. The armed forces chief signs a five-point plan to end the violence and seek a solution to the political crisis.
Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court for the first time since her government was overthrown.
Danny Fenster, 37, the managing editor of the Frontier Myanmar current affairs magazine, is detained at Yangon airport as he prepares to fly to Malaysia.
Min Aung Hlaing appoints himself prime minister in the military’s State Administration Council. He repeats a pledge to hold elections by 2023.
The United States charges two Myanmar citizens over a plot to injure or kill the country’s UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun.
The death toll as a result of the security force crackdowns on protests since the coup reaches 1,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The military releases Ashin Wirathu, a nationalist Buddhist monk notorious for his anti-Muslim tirades, after dropping sedition charges brought by Aung San Suu Kyi’s deposed government.
A military statement said all outstanding charges against the man once dubbed by Time magazine “The Face of Buddhist Terror” has been dropped.
In an unprecedented move, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) excludes Min Aung Hlaing from their summit, saying the military has failed to make progress on its plan to end the crisis.
Fenster is freed and returned to the United States, three days after being found guilty of charges including incitement, sedition and “terrorism” and being jailed for 11 years.
(How can he be detained in May above if he’s been jailed for 11 years?)
Myanmar charges Aung San Suu Kyi and 15 others with “electoral fraud and lawless actions” over the November 2020 elections.
The NLD won the election in a landslide and the Elections Commission said there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
A closed court finds elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions in the first verdict in a dozen cases brought against the Nobel Prize winner. She is sentenced to four years detention at an undisclosed location, but the sentence is later reduced after state TV announces Min Aung Hlaing has given her a “pardon”.
The UN accuses the military of killing dozens of civilians in eastern Myanmar after raiding a village on Christmas Eve.
Min Aung Hlaing appoints himself prime minister in the military’s State Administration Council. He repeats a pledge to hold elections by 2023.
The United States charges two Myanmar citizens over a plot to injure or kill the country’s UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun.
The death toll as a result of the security force crackdowns on protests since the coup reaches 1,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The military releases Ashin Wirathu, a nationalist Buddhist monk notorious for his anti-Muslim tirades, after dropping sedition charges brought by Aung San Suu Kyi’s deposed government.
A military statement said all outstanding charges against the man once dubbed by Time magazine “The Face of Buddhist Terror” has been dropped.
In an unprecedented move, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) excludes Min Aung Hlaing from their summit, saying the military has failed to make progress on its plan to end the crisis.
Fenster is freed and returned to the United States, three days after being found guilty of charges including incitement, sedition and “terrorism” and being jailed for 11 years.
(How can he be detained in May above if he’s been jailed for 11 years?)
Myanmar charges Aung San Suu Kyi and 15 others with “electoral fraud and lawless actions” over the November 2020 elections.
The NLD won the election in a landslide and the Elections Commission said there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
A closed court finds elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions in the first verdict in a dozen cases brought against the Nobel Prize winner. She is sentenced to four years detention at an undisclosed location, but the sentence is later reduced after state TV announces Min Aung Hlaing has given her a “pardon”.
The UN accuses the military of killing dozens of civilians in eastern Myanmar after raiding a village on Christmas Eve.
The military rolls out the red carpet for Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen as he becomes the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi is given an extra four years detention after being found guilty of charges including the possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies.
The military announces five more corruption charges against Aung San Suu Kyi.
