Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the official name of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar which has long been subjected to the repressive military rule that lasted from 1962 to 2011.
The generals who ruled the country suppressed all dissent, and on top of them is the leader Aung San Suu Kyi, to face international condemnation, accusations of human rights violations and economic sanctions.
Military coup in Myanmar
The military coup in Myanmar could further worsen the situation of 600,000 Rohingya Muslims in the country, according to a spokesman of the international organization before the UN Security Council meeting which held to discuss the latest developments in the country.
Myanmar’s military took over power and authority in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested along with other political leaders.
A military operation in Myanmar’s Rakhine region in 2017 displaced 700,000 Muslims to Bangladesh, where they remain trapped in refugee camps.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western governments have accused Myanmar’s military of ethnic cleansing, which the military denies.
” There are about 600,000 Rohingya Muslims who remain in Rakhine province. Including 120,000 trapped in refugee camps who cannot move and have little access to basic health care requirements. And we fear that recent developments will worsen the situation,”
said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Biden threatens to reimpose sanctions and invites for pressure on Myanmar’s military
US President Joe Biden has threatened to reimpose sanctions on Myanmar after the military seized power in a military coup. Biden described the arrest of leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilians as a “direct attack on democracy and the rule of law”.
The US president called on the international community to cooperate to impose pressure Myanmar’s military to leave power immediately and release civilian leaders.
“The will of the people cannot be revoked by force or attempted to erase the results of a valid election,” Biden said in a statement.
Myanmar coup: Why did it happen now and what will happen next?
Myanmar’s military declared control of the country’s reins of power, nearly a decade after it agreed to hand over power to civilians.
The coup caused a wave of fear across the country. It endured nearly 50 years of repressive military rule before turning Democratic in 2011.
The arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians was a reminder to all of those difficult days that many had hoped they had dumped and left behind in the past.
For the past five years, Suu Kyi led the National League for democracy after her election in 2015.
Army cuts internet service, protests continue
Myanmar’s military authorities cut off the country’s internet as protests against the coup continued. Netblocks monitors internet connectivity in the world, reported that the outage was almost complete, and the flow rate was down 16 % from normal levels.
Civil society organizations urged internet and mobile phone providers not to obey military orders and not to grant them legitimacy.
The country’s most prominent social media site, Facebook, was the first to be banned, called on the military authorities to lift the ban on all social media sites.
Teachers join civil disobedience movement, Army arrests more prominent officials
A growing civil disobedience movement is getting much bigger in Myanmar with teachers and students taking part in a protest campaign against the country’s military coup.
Protesters at a university in Yangon, the country’s largest city, chanted slogans in support of the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and placed red ribbons symbolizing her party, the National League for democracy (NLD).
Myanmar’s military coup authorities have stepped up a crackdown on members of the former civilian government, arresting a senior leader of Suu Kyi’s party.
Police accuse Aung San Suu Kyi of breaking import laws and possessing illegal devices
Police in Myanmar has accused several charges against civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi two days after the military coup. The charges include breaching import and export laws and possessing illegal communication devices.
Suu Kyi’s place still unknown, but she was detained at her residence in Nai Pi Tao.
The documents showed that there are many charges against the deposed President, Win Myint, included violating rules banning gatherings during the covid-19 pandemic. He also remanded in custody for two weeks.
