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First entry: Monday, February 1, 2021, 04:57
Myanmar’s military has declared a state of emergency across the country and announced that General Min Aung Hlaing will take over as acting president, hours after the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the political government, from President Win Mind and your superior. party officials, the National League for Democracy, in the early hours of the morning.
The army has said that a coup was needed to defend Myanmar’s “stability” via the army’s television network. The coup accused the electoral commission of failing to correct “enormous irregularities” that they said marred the November parliamentary elections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party claimed a landslide victory.
Escalating tension between staff and the political situation had raised concerns that a coup had been threatened since last week.
On Wednesday, the army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, had threatened to “suspend” or even “revoke” the country’s constitution if it was not followed.
Photos of armored vehicles and other military vehicles on the move in Yangon and other cities were posted on social media sites on Thursday.
Myanmar, once Burma, spent nearly five decades under the military yoke before a slow political transition began in 2010, in which political prisoners were released and partially assumed political rule.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, who spent 15 years under house arrest and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, was among the released dissidents.
He came to power after the 2015 elections, which were described as the freest ever held in the country, amid an atmosphere of optimism about the democratization of Myanmar.
However, he has been prohibited from assuming the presidency under the 2008 Constitution, drawn up by the military. Until now, he has been a “state adviser”, a position essentially identical to that of prime minister in other states, so he can exercise power through President Wayne Mead, a member of his party.
Previously, state television stopped broadcasting, and phone lines and Internet connections seemed virtually cut off.
The coup took place in the early hours of the day, when a new parliament met and the new parliament met in November, when the National League for Democracy claimed victory by overwhelming victory.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s image and prestige have been tarnished internationally following the massive persecution of thousands of members of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the western state of Rakhine since 2017. But the leading figure in the National League for Democracy continued being very popular at home. .
Army units have occupied Yangon City Hall and other strategic points.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed “grave concern” over the ongoing coup and “strongly condemned” the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and the military’s takeover of “legislative, executive and judicial “, which affects” democratic reforms “. of recent years in Myanmar.
The White House has announced that Democratic President Joe Biden has been briefed on the events. “The United States opposes any attempt to undermine the outcome of the recent elections and obstruct Myanmar’s democratic transition,” said Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the US presidency, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak with the media. .
Australia has expressed “deep concern” and demanded that Myanmar’s military leadership release Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained politicians, accusing the generals of “trying once again to take control” of the country.
The Japanese government has said that it is monitoring the situation and does not currently plan an expedited repatriation of Japanese nationals.
Daniel Russell, an American diplomat who was in charge of East Asia under Barack Obama, called the new blow a “severe blow to democracy in Myanmar” but “also to the interests of the United States.”
Murray Hibbert, an expert on Southeast Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, described the coup as a “challenge” for the new Biden administration.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) spokesman John Sifton stressed that, in fact, Myanmar’s military has never been under political control, calling on Washington and others to impose “strict” and “targeted economic sanctions. “to the leaders of the armed forces and their financial interests.
With information from AMPE, Reuters, dpa, AFP
