With great fanfare – but few guests – Myanmar’s armed forces recently celebrated their 76th anniversary in the nation’s capital of Naypyitaw.
Only Russia, China, Thailand and a handful of other Asian countries sent representatives to attend the March 27 parade showing off Myanmar’s modern war machines – mostly imported from Russia and China over the past decade, to the tune of $2.4 billion.
The Myanmar military has been terrorising civilians since a coup two months earlier. On the day of the parade, soldiers killed over 90 people for protesting military rule, including a five-year-old boy and three teenagers. An estimated 564 people have been killed in Myanmar since the February 1 coup.
One of Asia’s poorest countries, Myanmar spends twice as much on defence as it does on education and health combined. With half a million soldiers, at least on paper, Myanmar has the world’s 38th strongest military, according to Global Fire Power, which ranks 140 nations on…