Coup in Myanmar (by Cody Smith '23)

3/10/2021

Cody Smith '23

Myanmar is a country in southern Asia, previously called Burma. The country used to be a colony of Britain until it gained independence in 1948. Then, they were put under military rule until 2011 when a democratic government started to form.

However, on February 1st, the military started to take control again. This occurred due to the recent election where Aung San Suu Kyi with the National League for Democracy (NLD) had won by a landslide, but her political opponents declared that she had cheated.

Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing led this coup. He has now declared a yearlong state of emergency and is taking control of the government until the state of emergency ends. The military has also put many NLD officials under house arrest including Aung San Suu Kyi. They have charges Aung San Suu Kyi with possession of illegal walkie talkies.

Min Aung Hlaing has stated that free and fair elections will be held after the state of emergency. However, many other countries do not trust him and believe that he will influence the elections and force whoever he wants into office.

Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union, and the United States have all stated their opposition to this. Many of them, including the US, will put sanctions on the country if the military does not stop their aggressive actions. Countries in the area including Thailand, Cambodia, and even China have decided to let the situation progress without their involvement.

Protests have started very quickly and have caused the largest protests in Myanmar since 2007. The military is trying to disperse these crowds with water cannons, but it has been ineffective so far.