Nearly four years into Myanmar’s transition, questions about where the country is heading are on nearly everyone’s mind. Certainly in Yangon, admittedly a very political city, you only have to take a taxi or sit down for a casual chat and the conversation quickly veers in that direction. The fact that the 2015 general election is now less than 12 months away only heightens interest. Against this backdrop, I was struck by the juxtaposition of three stories published in the email version of Monday’s Irrawaddy.

First, San Yamin Aung reported on a suit filed on November 20 by Sagaing Region authorities against prominent columnist and NLD member Htin Lin Oo. He is charged with intent to “outrage” and “wound” religious feelings in a two-hour speech given in Chaung-U Township that criticized the use of Buddhism to promote prejudice and discrimination. The NLD has already relieved Htin Lin Oo of his position as information officer.

Second, Aung Hla Tun filed a story about a two-year jail sentence for disobedience handed down by a military tribunal to Major Kyaw Swar Win. His offence was to sign an NLD-backed petition calling for repeal of clause 436 of the Myanmar constitution, which provides the bedrock for the current oversized military role in national politics.

Third, Ashley South wrote about the peace process, arguing that there will not now be a comprehensive settlement before next year’s election, and more intriguingly that an ever more visible development as elite talks take centre stage is marginalization of ethnic armed groups and even ethnic civil society.

Just three stories published in the same edition of an online newspaper – maybe we shouldn’t make too much of them. But they do point to a future Myanmar in which key democratic values of pluralism and tolerance play no more than a minor role. Three dominant political institutions – the sangha, the military, and the NLD – are becoming more rigid, not less. The country as a whole is looking ever more theocratic, disciplined, and Bamar. None of these trends is welcome.