Timeline: Key events in Myanmar, long under military rule
Key events in Myanmar:
Jan. 4, 1948
Jan. 4, 1948: Country then known as Burma gains independence from British colonial rule.
Burma's Prime Minister Thakin Nu takes the oath of office before Burmese President Sao Shwe Thaik, in Rangoon, Jan. 4, 1948.
1962
1962: Military leader Ne Win stages a coup and rules the country through a junta for many years.
This Dec. 1, 1962, file photo shows Gen. Ne Win, right, chairman of the Burmese Revolutionary Council, in Rangoon, Burma, now known as Yangon, Myanmar. In March 1962, Gen. Ne Win led a military coup and initiated half a century of military rule that isolated Myanmar, turning it into one of the poorest countries in the world.
1988
1988: Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of an independence hero, returns to her home country as pro-democracy protests are erupting against the junta. Security forces open fire on demonstrators in August protests, and hundreds are killed.
July 1989
July 1989: An increasingly outspoken critic of the junta, Suu Kyi is put under house arrest.
Aung San Suu Kyi is shown in a 1989 file photo wearing a bamboo hat, the election symbol of the opposition National League for Democracy.
May 27, 1990
May 27, 1990: The National League for Democracy, founded by Suu Kyi, wins a landslide victory in elections, but the military refuses to hand over power.
Burmese voters in traditional dress form a long line, waiting for a voting place to open in Rangoon, May 27, 1990.
October 1991
October 1991: Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her peaceful struggle against the regime.
In this Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1991 file photo, Alexander Aris, center, the teenage son of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, shown in poster at right, accepts the Nobel Peace Prize "in the name of all the people of Burma," from the head of the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Francis Sejersted, left, during the award ceremony in Oslo, Norway. At right is Suu Kyi's son, Kim.
Nov. 7, 2010
Nov. 7, 2010: A pro-junta party wins Myanmar's first elections in 20 years, a vote that was boycotted as unfair and rigged in its favor.
In this photo taken Nov. 7, 2010, young Myanmar men pose with mannequin at an entrance of a cloths shop in Yangon, Myanmar.
Nov. 13, 2010
Nov. 13, 2010: Suu Kyi is freed from detention after spending long periods of the past two decades under house arrest.
In this Nov, 13, 2010, file photo, then Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks to the supporters as she stands at the gate of her home in Yangon, Myanmar.
2012
2012: Suu Kyi wins a by-election and takes her seat in Parliament, holding public office for the first time.
In this June 16, 2012, file photo, Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech during the Nobel ceremony at Oslo's City Hall, Norway.
Nov. 8, 2015
Nov. 8, 2015: The NLD wins a sweeping victory in general elections that were the first openly held since 1990. The military retained significant power under a constitution that also barred Suu Kyi from the presidency, but the position of state counsellor was created for her to lead the government.
In this Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, file photo, leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy party, Aung San Suu Kyi visits a polling station on the outskirts Yangon, Myanmar.
Aug. 25, 2017
Aug. 25, 2017: Insurgents attack military outposts in the western state of Rakhine, killing dozens. The military responds with a massive crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim population, who begin fleeing by the hundreds of thousands into Bangladesh.
A Rohingya woman and children look at the camera as they sit at a makeshift shelter at Ghumdhum, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Sunday, Aug.27, 2017.
Dec. 11, 2019
Dec. 11, 2019: Suu Kyi defended the military in a case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, denying it had committed genocide.
Nov. 8, 2020
Nov. 8, 2020: Myanmar holds elections, with the NLD capturing an outright majority in Parliament.
In this Nov. 8, 2020, file photo, Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing leaves a polling station after voting in Naypyitaw, Myanmar.
Jan. 29, 2021
Jan. 29, 2021: Myanmar's election commission rejects the military's allegations of fraud in the elections, finding no evidence to support the claims.
In this Jan. 30, 2021, file photo, supporters of the Myanmar military and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party hold placards as they continue to protest election results during a rally near Shwedagon pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.
Feb. 1, 2021:
Feb. 1, 2021: Myanmar military takes control of the country for one year, citing the government's failure to act against its claims of voter fraud and refusal to postpone the November elections because of the coronavirus crisis. Her party says Suu Kyi is again placed under house arrest.
Soldiers sit inside trucks parked on a road in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country's senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.
Since the February 2021 military takeover in Myanmar, landmines planted by all sides of the conflict have become responsible for skyrocketing civilian casualties, including children increasingly as victims.
