JAKARTA - On December 31, 2012, for the first time the people of Myanmar gathered to celebrate the turn of the year. They also first felt the excitement of counting down to 2013.
Citing the Los Angeles Times, the people of Myanmar had never previously gathered to celebrate the new year. This is because the military junta restricts such gatherings. But as the country became a totalitarian government and gradually embraced reforms, Myanmar celebrated a new year like never before.
Previously, the people of Myanmar only celebrated the Burmese New Year Festival every April. New year's date is calculated according to the Burmese calendar. Festival dates are made public holidays throughout Myanmar and are part of the summer holidays at the end of the school year.
While it's the new year which is usually celebrated by residents all over the world, they celebrate it privately or in a hotel, but there is no open celebration. Under the military regime, the only grandiose fireworks display allowed was in honor of Armed Forces Day, an annual celebration of the military junta.
Closing the end of the year with celebration is a fitting ending to a year full of firsts for Myanmar. Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who has long been confined to her home as a political prisoner, has been elected to parliament. After the United States (US) restored relations with a country that had long been isolated. US President Barack Obama made the visit, the first by a US president, in November 2012.
Myanmar's President Thein Sein held his first press conference for local journalists for the first time in 2012. Journalists no longer have to submit articles to government censors before they are released. Hundreds of prisoners also tasted their first freedom.
Thousands of people attended the celebrations in a large square in Yangon against the backdrop of the city's famous Shwedagon Pagoda. The Myanmar public gets a chance to do what much of the world does every 31 December.
The large digital screen displays live New Year's Eve countdowns in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand and a 60-second countdown to 2013 in Myanmar. Singers, celebrities, light shows, and other celebrations were held publicly, where previously such public gatherings were prohibited by the military regime.
Unfortunately, Myanmar's freedom did not last long. At the end of January 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The reason for the coup was that the military felt that there was fraud in the Myanmar elections which took place in November 2020.
The Myanmar military then handed over power to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing who then appointed Myint Swe, Myanmar's first vice president, as Acting President. This action drew criticism from various parties, including the threat of sanctions.
In addition, the Myanmar military declared a state of emergency following the arrest of Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a number of other figures linked to allegations of fraudulent election results in Myanmar. Telephone lines and the internet were drastically restricted.
With internet conditions limited to 50 percent, Myanmar's national TV, MRTV, can only make announcements on Facebook. The content of the announcement was that MRTV and Radio Myanmar did not broadcast.
Recently, the international charity Save the Children confirmed two members of its staff in Myanmar were killed in an attack blamed on the military. Citing the BBC, more than 35 bodies, including women and children, were found in Kayah state.
It said Myanmar military forces forced the two staff to get out of the car, arresting, killing and burning the bodies of the victims. The Myanmar military, however, denies these claims.
Save the Children said the two staff members who died were "new fathers working in education for children." The two staff were on their way home for vacation after doing humanitarian work.
In a post on Twitter, Save the Children called on the UN Security Council to convene and take action to hold those held accountable.
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