Myanmar Junta Offers Amnesty to Civil Servants Who Resigned After 2021 Coup

Myanmar. The Myanmar junta on Sunday offered to remove former civil servants who resigned in protest of the coup five years ago from the 'blacklist' if they return to work, promising to remove them from the 'blacklist'.

Following the military's coup and seizure of power on February 1, 2021, tens of thousands of employees, including doctors and government administrators, resigned to join the Civil Disobedience Movement. Some found private employment, while others joined the civil war alongside pro-democracy rebels. Many lives have been lost across the country in the civil war.

Last week, the junta completed a month-long election, which allowed it to claim a return to civilian rule. However, the main pro-military party appears to have achieved a complete victory in the election, aligning with military allies to consolidate its hold on power.

The junta's National Defence and Security Council stated that civil servants who 'left their workplace without permission for various reasons' since February 2021 should 'report and contact their former departments'.

The council's statement read, "Upon verification, if employees are found not to have committed any crime, and those who committed crimes but have already completed their sentences or whose names are still blacklisted, they will be removed from the blacklist."

Employees absent from work were previously blacklisted, forcing some into hiding. Thousands of employees joined the Civil Disobedience Movement in protest after the military ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The junta cracked down on protesters by raiding informants' residences and arresting striking employees. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group, more than 22,000 people are currently imprisoned.

Suu Kyi remains in military custody, and her popular party has been dissolved. The junta's phased election concluded on Sunday without voting in 20 percent of Myanmar's total territory, even though large parts of the country remain outside military control.

Suu Kyi's party won 90 percent of the seats in the previous 2020 election, but the party is not visible on the ballot this time, according to the Asian Network for Free Elections.