Meet the beauty queen turned freedom fighter who made her home in Australia

While she was stunned by the coup, what she couldn’t stomach most was the army’s “bullying”. Confusion and misinformation reigned in the first 72 hours, but by the weekend Htar Htet Htet was among the anti-coup protesters. In the crackdown that followed, she saw a young student of 16 or 17 shot and killed.

“They just wanted to protest peacefully. We just want our freedom, our future. But the military, they shot the young child. A lot of people were arrested and tortured and killed, it was very painful for me.”

By March, it became more dangerous and increasingly personal. Given her fame, Htar Htet Htet was noticed at the protests and received threats through her Facebook page.

“They said they would kill me, they’d rape me if they found me. I realised it was no longer safe to stay in Yangon, I needed to protect myself.”

Demonstrators were armed mainly with placards and emotions, demanding democracy, justice and freedom. The army responded with violence and coercion, and clemency only to those who swore obedience.

“I cannot accept that kind of situation. That’s why I left my country, I left my home. It was really painful to me, but why would I say sorry to them?”