MYANMAR

Coup D’etat

First of all, while I am writing this, I would like to ensure you that the entire team of the ICS Travel Group in Myanmar is fine.

On 1st February, the armed forces in Myanmar staged a coup, claiming widespread fraud in the recent election won by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The military has now taken control, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, and a year-long state of emergency has been declared.

When there was finally hope that the end of the global pandemic was in sight with the increase in vaccinations, other developments in Myanmar thwarted the easing of this challenging situation.

The latest political events continue to determine the everyday life of the Burmese people. Despite the most recent reinforcement of restrictions, such as a curfew from 8:00pm to 4:00am and a limitation of gatherings for groups of five individuals or less, there are still demonstrations taking place all over the country with hundreds of thousands of people.

Every evening at 8:00pm the neighbourhoods of Yangon unite in clanging pots, pans and empty cookie jars from their windows and balconies, singing songs together in protest while the honks from the vehicles below join the performance – displaying an impressive and stirring presentation of determination and unity.

It is impossible to make any prediction about what will happen within the next couple of days or weeks. I hope that our readers will join me in wishing the devoted people of Myanmar, the country that I have been calling my home for over 16 years, every success in finding a peaceful way out of this situation.

Our team is operational and we are looking forward to bringing the enchantment of Myanmar and its unique people closer to any future travellers again soon.

Kind Regards,

Carsten Schmidt
Group Director of Operations & Products 
ICS Travel Group