Thousands Suspended At Myanmar Universities For Protests

Over 11,000 academics and other university staff opposed to Myanmar’s ruling junta have been suspended after going on strike in protest against military rule.

An official of the Myanmar Teachers` Federation who declined being identified for fear of reprisals said as of Monday, over 11,100 academic and other staff had been suspended from colleges and universities offering degrees.

The suspensions come on the heels of resumption of universities after a one-year closure due to Covid-19. It prompts a new confrontation between the army and the staff and students, who are calling for boycotts over the February 1 coup.

A professor on a fellowship in the United States said she was told she would have to declare opposition to the strikes or lose her job. Her university authorities had told her every scholar would be tracked down and forced to choose.

Students and teachers were at the forefront of opposition during nearly half a century of military rule and have been prominent in the protests since the army detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and halted a decade of tentative democratic reforms.

Many teachers, like medics and other government workers, have stopped work as part of a civil disobedience movement that has paralysed Myanmar. As protests flared after the coup, security forces occupied campuses in the biggest city, Yangon, and elsewhere.

A spokesman for the junta did not respond to phone calls seeking comment on the suspensions. But the junta-controlled Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said teachers and students should cooperate to get the education system started again.