Myanmar’s year of turmoil since the military took power in a coup

(Reuters) – Myanmar’s military took power in a coup on Feb. 1 last year after complaining of fraud in a November 2020 general election won by democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.

Following is a timeline of events:

Feb. 1, 2021: Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior figures from the National League for Democracy (NLD) are detained in morning raids.

The military declares a state of emergency for a year – later extended – and hands power to army chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Feb. 3: Staff at 70 hospitals and medical departments stop work in protest. Many wear red ribbons as part of a civil disobedience campaign.

NLD offices are raided, documents and computers are seized.

Police file charges against Suu Kyi saying military officers searching her residence found six hand-held radios imported illegally and used without permission.

Charges are also filed against the president over violating coronavirus restrictions.

Feb. 4: Protesters wave banners and chant anti-coup slogans in Mandalay.

Feb. 6: Blocks are ordered on Twitter and Instagram, where protesters had been sharing information. The junta orders the internet shut down.

Feb. 7: Protests sweep the country in the biggest show of anger since 2007 anti-military protests.

Internet access is restored but social media platforms remain blocked.

Feb. 9: Police fire guns, mostly in the air, water cannons and rubber bullets at protesters in the capital, Naypyitaw. A woman is shot in the head and dies 10 days later.

Feb. 13: The junta suspends laws constraining security forces from detaining suspects and searching property.

Feb. 22: General strike shuts businesses as crowds gather across the country.

Feb. 25: Facebook bans Myanmar military from its platforms.

About 1,000 supporters of the military attack opponents of the coup in Yangon.

Feb. 26: Myanmar’s U.N. envoy urges the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to stop the coup. He is fired the next day.

March 2: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers hold a call with a junta representative. They urge Suu Kyi’s release and an end to lethal force against protesters.

March 4: At least 19 police cross into India saying they don’t want to take orders from the junta.

March 5: U.S. officials freeze a $1 billion Myanmar account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The United States blocks Myanmar’s defence and interior ministries and top military conglomerates from certain trade.

March 22: The European Union imposes travel bans and asset freezes on 11 people linked to the coup, including Min Aung Hlaing and acting president Myint Swe.

March 27: Troops kill at least 160 people as the military marks Armed Forces Day with a parade.

March 28: About 3,000 villagers flee from Karen State to Thailand after the army launches air strikes in territory controlled by the Karen National Union insurgent group.

Security forces also open fire at a funeral in Bago town for 114 people killed in a crackdown the previous day.

April 1: Suu Kyi is charged with breaking official secrets law.

April 16: Junta opponents announce a National Unity Government including ousted members of parliament and leaders of anti-coup protests, aiming to end military rule and restore democracy.

April 24: Southeast Asian leaders say they have agreed on a plan with Min Aung Hlaing to end the crisis.

April 27: The KNU captures an army output near the Thai border. The military responds with air strikes.

May 4: Junta-controlled media announce a ban on satellite television receivers.

May 24: Suu Kyi appears in court for the first time since her government was overthrown.

Danny Fenster, 37, an American managing editor of the Frontier Myanmar news site, is detained at Yangon airport as he prepares to fly to Malaysia.

June 8: The United Nations says some 100,000 people in Kayah State have been displaced by fighting that included “indiscriminate attacks by security forces” in civilian areas.

June 21: Min Aung Hlaing and Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, commit to strengthening security and other ties at a Moscow meeting.

Aug. 1: Min Aung Hlaing takes the role of prime minister in a caretaker government. He repeats a pledge to hold elections by 2023.

Aug. 18: The death toll as a result security force crackdowns on protests since the coup tops 1,000, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Oct. 16: ASEAN countries exclude Min Aung Hlaing from a summit citing lack of progress on its plan to end the crisis.

Oct. 29: Win Htein, 79, an aide to Suu Kyi, is jailed for 20 years on high treason charge.

Nov. 15: Fenster freed and returns to the United States after being jailed for 11 years on various charges.

Dec. 5: Suu Kyi is found guilty of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions. She is set to serve two years in detention at an undisclosed location, a sentence reduced from four after a partial pardon from military chief.

Jan. 7, 2022: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen meets Min Aung Hlaing in two-day Myanmar visit, the first by a head of government since the coup.

Jan. 10: A court jails Suu Kyi for four more years on charges including possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies.

Jan. 14: Five new corruption charges against Suu Kyi, 76, are announced. In all, she faces up to 164 years in jail.

(Compiled by Karishma Singh; Editing by Robert Birsel)