After the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021, tens of thousands of public workers, including doctors and government administrators, left their posts in a surge of civil disobedience. file | Image Credit: Reuters
Junta of Myanmar Former civil servants who quit their jobs in protest against a coup five years ago were called on Sunday (Feb 1, 2026) to report back to work, vowing to remove absentee state employees from “blacklists”.
After The military usurped power in a coup On February 1, 2021, tens of thousands of public workers, including doctors and government administrators, left their posts in an escalation of civil disobedience.
Some found private employment, others defied the military and joined pro-democracy rebels in a civil war that killed tens of thousands on all sides. Last week, the junta completed a month-long election that returned civilian rule.
But democracy watchdogs claimed a walkover victory in the vote, which says the powerful pro-military party has aligned itself with army allies to extend its grip on power.
The junta’s National Defense and Security Council said civil servants who “left their workplaces without permission for various reasons” must “report and liaise with the offices of their former departments” from February 2021.
“Upon review, employees found to have committed no crime, as well as those who have committed crimes but have already served punishment and whose names still appear on the blacklist, are being removed from the blacklist,” the council said in a statement published in the state-run Myanmar newspaper.
Absentee public servants were blacklisted, “leading some to go into hiding,” it added.
After the coup, the military ousted pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, tens of thousands of striking public activists joined the “civil disobedience movement” in protest.
The junta responded with a crackdown on protesters, relying on tips from informants and surprise attacks to round up those on strike. Today, more than 22,000 people are languishing in junta prisons, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
Suu Kyi remains in military custody and her massive populist party has been disbanded. A junta-level election ended without a vote in one-fifth of Myanmar last Sunday, amid fighting that has left large swathes of the country outside military control.
The Asian Network for Free Elections said parties that won 90% of the seats in previous elections in 2020 – won by Suu Kyi’s party with a landslide – did not appear on the ballot this time.
Published – February 01, 2026 11:32 pm IST
