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Myanmar Coup 2021

Around the globe, some issues have surfaced where others have been affected due to the government’s lack of action. Within this case, Myanmar has gone through a series of issues coming from the colonization of a country towards the internal situation that was taken over by their people. These people would be the focusing trouble towards the military where their actions have to lead to a coup affecting several people within the nation. Although the issue has been ongoing for years, there has been a breakout about it where limited action is taken by the government.


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Source: BBC news


History of the Coup

The coup has been an ongoing situation happening in Myanmar, a southeast Asian country that has been dealing with this issue for years. The first coup breakout that happened was in 1962, where General U Ne Win had led a military coup for 26 years. In 1974, Ne Win instituted a constitution that is based on the isolationist policy and a socialist economic program that focuses upon nationalizing the major enterprises in Burma (the first name). Around 1988, the economic situation has gone downhill where there was widespread corruption and food shortages around the nation. This lead to student-led protests where the army has killed at least 300,000 people and more.

When Ne Win resigned as a chairman, a new military regime has come over where the country has been renamed the Union of Myanmar. The military government has moved the administrative capital to Nay Pyi Taw in 2005. Since then, there was a Saffron Revolution, where a widespread anti-government protest?in 2007 have sparked. There was also international pressure that shifted their perspectives to the country’s government since the military government had some goals that would increase their stance among the global population. The Junta, which is a military government, had somehow dissolved around 2011, where they had established a civilian parliament and appointed Prime Minister Thein Sein as the president.


Present Issue

As time goes on, there has been a sudden issue that had come across in Myanmar. On February 1, 2021, the military had seized control where the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) are detained. The military announced that they would remain in power possibly for a year with having Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing as the authority of the coup. There have been questions into why this would happen since the long-term military rule from 1962, however, it was stated from the Tatmadaw, armed forces of Myanmar, that due to the November 2020 elections which were invalid among the military government.

Understanding Suu Kyi’s party, there have been situations that happened around the 1980s where Suu Kyi was a leader of the pro-democracy movement. Due to her efforts, she was placed under house arrest in 1989 when the military took her under that scenario. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Price in 1991 for fighting for democracy with no violence along it. The Tatmadaw would draft a constitution for the past five years as it was accepted in 2008. Since then, Suu Kyi was released from house arrest but under the condition of not being elected as a president. But when the NLD’s victory came in November 2020, the military has claimed the elections as fraud and demanded a new military-supervised election which was to detain Suu Kyi and other government officials.


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Source: foreign policy


Suu Kyi and Mr. Win Myint, the “deposed’ president, began a secret trial which was conducted on February 16. They are facing charges that could land them six years in prison or possibly three years. Suu Kyi was accused of violating the import restriction when some foreign equipment was found in her villa compound that exchanged messages between other unfamiliar groups. She was also charged with interacting with a crowd when there is still an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was stated that the trial might take up a year as she was denied legal representation. As for Mr. Win Myint, he has been charged with breaching the restriction of natural disasters. Both have been held in an unknown location while facing various charges.

The military has seized every control of the nation’s infrastructure, journalism, and canceling airline flights from the country. Some cities have the telephone and internet access suspended. Stock markets and commercial banks closed whereas ATMs in some places are seen having some long lines. The country’s largest city, Yangon, has residents running to some markets to purchase the necessities such as food and water to stock up their storage within their homes. The armed forces as of now are living in separate areas to monitor civilian’s actions.


The Effect on Citizens

Some activists have quickly organized the movement against the cup that strikes and boycotts any businesses that link to the military. These ongoing protests against the coup have been the largest movement since the Saffron Revolution. The protests consist of students, lawyers, bank officers, and government workers that had reacted to this issue. But the military has imposed restrictive measures where curfews are held and gatherings have been limited to a certain amount of people. The security forces have water cannons, rubber bullets, and some ammunition to disperse the protesters. Around May 9, 700 people and more have been killed, clashing along with security forces, whereas more than 3,500 people have been arrested.


How Can You Help

Because of the violent effect towards the citizens of Myanmar, there are some ways that we could help:

  • Donating to a local organization in Myanmar: There is a GoFundMe account which is run by the Citizen of Burma Award Organization that supports the civil disobedience movement in the nation where funds are directly sent towards the movement.

  • Donate to a humanitarian aid organization: Organizations such as International Rescue Committee, Doctors without Borders, and Save the Children have advocated and support the community with the use of medical assistance, services, and training to the people.

  • Contacting representatives: Some social justice groups such as Chin Leaders of Tomorrow and International Campaign for the Rohingya where campaigns are being organized through The Action Network that will send to a senator or a representative to demand help for citizens in Myanmar.

  • Supporting Local Journalism: Myanmar Now is a current news outlet where it continuously reports the situation and is asking for donations to fund the salaries of journalists.

  • Educating yourself and spreading awareness: It is important to educate yourself on these topics by reading articles or learning from NGOs on social media platforms. You can spread this information online to make others understand the situation that is happening in today’s time.


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