Myanmar in the immediate aftermath of the 2021 coup bore a number of similarities to the country in the early days of the abortive 1988 pro-democracy uprising. As the security forces became more violent and communal tensions escalated, the opposition movement chose similar ways to respond. The two cases, however, are also different in several respects. This time, the generals were dealing with a population that had tasted ten years of relative freedom and was determined not to lose it. Uncoordinated street protests turned into a nation-wide civil war with violent encounters in both urban and rural settings.

The American author Mark Twain once wrote that history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Sadly, this seems to be occurring in Myanmar, where developments following the 1 February 2021 coup bear a strong similarity to the events of 1988, when an earlier nation-wide pro-democracy uprising was crushed by the country's armed forces, or Tatmadaw.

Just to recap, in August 1988 a popular movement challenged the government of General Ne Win, which had been in power, in one form or another, since a military coup in 1962. All over Burma (as Myanmar was then known) people from all walks of life came out on the streets to protest against the regime's brutality and incompetence. As violence escalated on both sides, the opposition movement appealed to the international community for support.

By the end of a major crackdown in September, an estimated 3,000 people had been killed. Thousands more were detained and many were tortured. This resulted in a flood of refugees over Myanmar's borders. Some joined existing ethnic armed groups (EAG) or formed guerrilla bands of their own. In 1990, the ruling military council ignored the results of a general election, which was resoundingly won by the opposition National League for Democracy. A government-in-exile was formed, but it failed to win international recognition.

From relative obscurity before 1988, Myanmar became a frequent topic in the news media, and a global movement against military rule there gained wide support. A range of punitive measures were introduced by governments, international organisations and activist groups, aimed at removing the regime, or at least forcing greater observance of democratic principles and human rights. A special effort was made to secure the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent almost 15 years under house arrest.