After just about a decade of democracy, Myanmar came under a military coup on February 1st. The country’s military, formally known as the Tatmadaw, ruled the nation for decades, until a new constitution was established in 2008 which created some degree of a civilian government. However, it still granted the Tatmadaw a large amount of control, for example by giving it at least 25 percent of legislature seats at all times. Since no amendments to the new constitution could be passed without at least 75 percent of votes in the Parliament, this measure allowed the Tatmadaw’s power to remain largely unchallenged while the country put on a facade of democracy. However, In 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner who had spent fifteen years under house arrests for her activism, became the State Counsellor after winning the elections together with her party, the National League for Democracy. During her time in power, Suu Kyi tried to threaten the military’s power, for example by calling for the number of legislature seats allocated to them to be reduced, and even campaigned on the proposal of restricting the military’s role in governing the nation during the last elections in November 2020. During these elections, the National League for Democracy won by an overwhelming majority and secured 396 of 476 seats in Myanmar’s Parliament.
Having come under threat, the military arrested pro-democracy leaders and activists, including Suu Kyi, and declared a national emergency for one year, announcing on television that it would hold control for at least that time. It claims that citizens will then be able to vote in new elections overseen by a “reformed” election commission. Further, it stated that its actions were necessary because the elections were (according to them) fraudulent, and had many irregularities, but the Union Election Commission found no evidence of widespread voting irregularities, and neither have international observers. Some of the pro-democracy leaders who were arrested are being held on seemingly ridiculous charges; for example Suu Kyi has been charged with illegally importing walkie-talkies.
The Tatmadaw is responsible for human rights abuses against Myanmar’s minorities, including genocide against Rohingya Muslims, although it is worth mentioning that Suu Kyi defended the military’s actions against the Rohingya, making her complicit to an extent. The country’s new leader is Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and ultimate authority now lies in him. This is especially worrying to the international community since he played a role in genocide and war crimes, and in 2019 the US even sanctioned him for human rights abuses against the Rohingya. Countries like the UK, Japan, Australia and Mexico have already called for the military to return power to the elected government, and the Biden administration officially labeled the event as a coup. However, China and Russia blocked a committee statement condemning the takeover at a United Nations Security Council meeting last Tuesday, showing the polarized reactions that the world has had to the events in Myanmar.
The ongoing coup is even more worrisome when considering the ongoing pandemic, and the fact that some hospital workers have refused to work under a military regime. Tens of thousands of protestors have already taken to Myanmar’s streets to demand that the results of the election be recognized as legitimate and for the civilian government to be restored, and some have even called for the 2008 constitution to be abolished and a real democracy to be established. Protests were mostly peaceful, but police ended up firing water cannons on demonstrators in the capital, Naypyidaw, and there were reports of authorities firing shots at protestors near the border with Thailand. Further, the Tatmadaw reacted by blocking people’s access to some social media platforms, imposing an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in the country’s two biggest cities, and banning rallies and gatherings of more than five people.
Because of the military’s principal role in the Rohingya genocide, this minority group may be under even more of a threat of persecution now that the Tatmadaw is in ultimate control. On this topic, Mabrur Ahmed, founder of the UK-based human rights group Restless Beings, said, “I’m just echoing the voices of the Rohingya that I know and I’ve spoken to do, who fear they are going to be number one, front and center, of the Burma military showing its power.”
Sources:
Comments