To the horror of the world, Myanmars powerful military on the morning of February 1 ousted the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power in a swift coup d’etat (a sudden, violent seizure of power from an existing government) and took control of the Southeast Asian country. The chief of the military junta General Min Aung Hlaing announced a year-long emergency before declaring himself the prime minister of the country. Several members of the ruling party, including Suu Kyi, were detained by the junta which sparked protests across the country, resulting in the deaths of over 1.000 people. Suu Kyi was later sentenced to a two-year term of detention in an undisclosed location. (Early this year, the ousted leader was sentenced to four more years in prison.)
The army said it had responded to “election fraud”, handing power to military chief General Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for a year in the country, also known as Burma, where neighbouring China has a powerful influence.
The generals made their move hours before parliament had been due to sit for the first time since the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) landslide win in a Nov. 8 election viewed as a referendum on Suu Kyi’s fledgling democratic rule.
The NLD said Suu Kyi had called on people to protest against the military takeover, quoting comments it said had been written in anticipation of a coup.
Phone and internet connections in the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main commercial centre Yangon were disrupted and state television went off air after the NLD leaders were detained.
Summarising a meeting of the new junta, the military said Min Aung Hlaing, who had been nearing retirement, had pledged to practice a “genuine discipline-flourishing multiparty democratic system”.
He promised a free and fair election and a handover of power to the winning party, it said, without giving a timeframe.
The junta later removed 24 ministers and named 11 replacements to oversee ministries including finance, defence, foreign affairs and interior.
Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were “taken” in the early hours of the morning, NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said at least 45 people had been detained.
Credit : Reuters
Picture Credit : Google
