The junta's Ministry of Health fired 557 government-employed doctors who quit to protest the military government, revoking their licenses at a time when medical professionals are in short supply, sources in the country's medical community reported Tuesday, citing an official list.

The striking doctors joined other government employees in what has become known as a nationwide "Civil Disobedience Movement," or CDM, refusing to perform their duties in protest of the military government that seized power in February 2021.

A physician who has been in hiding for more than a year after the junta issued an arrest warrant for her on charges of "incitement" told RFA that she and others on the list have no intention of abandoning the anti-coup movement despite the suspension of their licenses.

"We anticipated that the junta would take this action," she said, adding that she was informed of her suspension by a medical colleague. "Revoking my license will not make my current situation any worse, nor will it alter my position."

The first group of doctors to join the Civil Disobedience Movement did so in Mandalay the day following the coup, gaining such a large following that junta-run hospitals and clinics were rendered inoperable. The movement has had such a significant impact that the Nobel Prize Committee nominated it for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

The news of the firings, however, comes at a time when there is a shortage of doctors in the country due to the participation of those in the movement, the spread of COVID-19, and widespread conflict.

This has prompted the junta to relax medical school application requirements this year.

As part of the dismissals, the junta-controlled Myanmar Medical Council began issuing one-year suspensions of the doctors' licenses to practice, known as the Sa Ma certificate, in February – one year after the coup on February 1, 2021, according to sources speaking with RFA's Burmese service.

A physician who joined the CDM movement told RFA that, even though suspensions began nearly nine months ago, there had been no public announcement and the affected physicians only learned of the move after the list of names went viral on social media.

They are gradually revoking the licenses of physicians. Sometimes twenty are revoked, and sometimes twenty-five. However, the lists were released inconsistently, and the majority of these physicians were unaware of the change, according to a physician who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

"Many of them continue to provide medical care and operate [private] clinics. They were all surprised to hear the news, as the ministry had never informed them.

According to the CDM Medical Network, approximately 45,000 of the approximately 60,000 physicians who joined the movement after the coup remain.

The Ministry of Health stated that it had suspended the licenses of 14 physicians in February, 50 physicians in March, 41 physicians in April, 66 physicians in May, 60 physicians in June, 61 physicians in July, 80 physicians in August, 87 physicians in September, and 98 physicians in October.

Targeting "the individuals and their occupations"

The doctor in hiding acknowledged that those on the list are "facing hardship" now that the junta has also distributed the list to private hospitals and clinics and initiated ad hoc inspections.

RFA requests to Myat Wunna Soe, director general of the junta's Ministry of Health, for comment on the suspensions were referred to the Myanmar Medical Council, but the council did not respond to calls Tuesday.

According to an internal document obtained by RFA from the medical council, the doctors were suspended for violating Article 45 (D) of the Myanmar Medical Council Act, citing "failure to adhere to the code of medical ethics" and "patient abandonment."

Olivia, a physician affiliated with Civil Disobedience, noted that suspending the licenses of medical professionals for their political beliefs affects both doctors and patients.

"The suspension also negatively impacts the health of their patients and their families... This affects both the individuals and their profession, she stated.

Reduced application prerequisites

The junta lowered the requirements for medical school applicants in 2022, citing the need to fill the void created by the large number of physicians who joined the anti-coup movement.

A second-year medical student who quit school to protest the coup told RFA that becoming a physician requires several years of training, and he questioned the junta's plan to replace Civil Disobedience physicians by offering applicants a shortcut.

"They are attempting to demonstrate that we are expendable and that they can easily replace us... with new people who will submit to their rule," said a medical student who also declined to be identified.

However, he suggested that few applicants would be willing to provide care in Myanmar's remote regions, whereas in urban areas, where many physicians practice, patients will "flock to a handful of high-quality physicians."

Movement impact

The suspension of nearly 600 physicians will have a significant impact on access to healthcare in Myanmar, according to Lewan Wai, a doctor from a branch of the movement known as the Yangon Medical Network. Wai stated that the number of medical professionals in Myanmar is already inadequate to meet demand, so the suspension of nearly 600 physicians will have a devastating effect on healthcare in the country.

"The ratio of medical personnel to patients is already unbalanced," he said, noting that the number of casualties from armed conflict has skyrocketed in recent months, while people continue to die of COVID-19 and other diseases.

This choice will not benefit anyone. The patients' hopelessness will increase. I anticipate that many people will perish because they were unable to receive timely medical care, with patients bearing the brunt of the loss."

In addition to suspending the licenses of doctors in the Civil Disobedience Movement, the junta has also taken other measures against medical professionals in the movement. According to figures released by the ReliefWeb watchdog organization in May, the junta has detained at least 564 medical personnel since the coup and murdered 36 others.