Myanmar: Army coup returns; Suu Kyi, others put behind bars
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The Myanmar army on Monday stated a veiled coup, ousted the elected government, and declared a one-year state of emergency in the country after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior leaders of the ruling National League for Democracy’s (NLD) party, media reported.
The development comes amid reports of a military coup in Myanmar (Burma) just months after Suu Kyi’s party NLD swept the general elections.
The coup came in the wake of the rejection of November 8, 2020, election results by military-backed opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in Myanmar. The NLD had secured more than the 322 seats required to form the government.
It was Myanmar’s second democratic general election since 2011 when the military rule ended. The reports of a probable coup surfaced after the army warned last week that it will take action if the complaints about alleged election fraud were not addressed.
Chances of the coup also increased in view of China’s grip over the internal situation in Myanmar.
Its military junta, which ruled the country through the 1990s and 2000s, had the backing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After a long struggle against the military regime for nearly two decades, Suu Kyi-led Myanmar transitioned into a partial democracy in the last five years.
Suu Kyi, a former Nobel laureate, faced criticism from the West when her government expelled around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims accused of perpetrating Islamist terrorism and propagating separatism. In a case filed by a group of Islamic countries at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, she was accused of genocide of Rohingyas.
However, her government, whose survival depends on the military, not only supported the army but also engaged Beijing to secure investments. For China, Myanmar is of strategic importance due to its access to the Indian Ocean, the main route for China’s oil imports from the Middle East.
Beijing plans to develop overland routes for oil and gas pipelines via the Kyaukphyu special economic zone (SEZ) and deep-sea port, which will allow it to bypass the South China Sea where the US and Japan are challenging its sovereignty of marine routes.
India, which has been trying to ensure Myanmar’s entry into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping as a counterweight against Beijing’s moves, and the US expressed concerns over the developments in Myanmar and urged that the rule of law must be upheld.
“We have noted the developments in Myanmar with deep concern. India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar. We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. We are monitoring the situation closely,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi.
America also expressed concern saying that it was ‘alarmed’ at the reports emerging from Myanmar.
“The US is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma. President Biden has been briefed by NSA,” White House Spokesperson
The US opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition and will take action against those responsible if these steps aren’t reversed, she added.
The United Nations has also condemned the detention of Suu Kyi and other political leaders of the country.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the detention of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders on the eve of the opening session of Myanmar’s new Parliament,” a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said in a statement.
“He expresses his grave concern regarding the declaration of the transfer of all legislative, executive, and judicial powers to the military. These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar,” the statement said.
