Naypyidaw (AsiaNews/Agencies)
Following democratic elections in November 2020, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) achieved a landslide victory over the military-backed opposition party, winning 397 parliamentary seats out of 476. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won only 33 seats.
The Myanmar military (known as the Tatmadaw) denounced the results, falsely claiming that the election was stolen as a result of massive voting fraud, demanding that the results be invalidated and calling for the election to be held again with greater military involvement.
Last Thursday, January 28, Myanmar’s election commission rejected allegations by the Tatmadaw that the election had been stolen, confirming the NLD victory.
On Friday, January 29, domestic election observers issued a joint statement reiterating that the “results of the election were credible and reflected the will of the majority of the voters.”
Following confirmation of the electoral results, last weekend Yesterday, the newly elected parliament was scheduled to hold its first session; instead, Myanmar’s military surrounded parliament, declared a one-year “state of emergency” and officially seized power in a coup d’etat. Shutting down internet communications across the country, Tatmadaw forces arrested and detained Myanmar’s civilian leadership including Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, along with cabinet ministers, the chief ministers of several regions, the leaders of the governing NLD party and other opposition politicians, as well as writers, intellectuals and activists. In place of the democratically elected government, the Tatmadaw installed General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander in Chief of the armed forces, as head of a governing junta with a new national cabinet made up entirely of current or former Army generals.
What do we know about General Min Aung Hlaing? According to the New York Times:
“Rohingya Muslims had faced decades of persecution under Tatmadaw rule, but it was General Min Aung Hlaing who masterminded a campaign of terror that forced more than three-quarters of a million Rohingya to flee the country. As Rohingya villages burned, nationalists rejoiced at the expulsion of Muslims, who were considered foreign interlopers. The army chief’s popularity soared.”
According to Human Rights Watch:
“The military commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, is credibly and directly implicated in crimes against humanity committed during the military’s “clearance operations” against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations against the Kachin, Shan, Rakhine, and other ethnic minorities.”
In addition,
“Several members of the military-installed government announced on February 1 are also credibly implicated in serious rights abuses.”
Former human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, who became a democratically elected civilian leader following years under house arrest by the Tatmadaw, ended up supporting the General Hlaing’s campaign of ethnic cleansing and mass violence against the Rohingya minority in a rotten compromise. If this compromise was intended to preserve democracy at the cost of human rights, its effect was to betray both. I will discuss this tragic story, and its cautionary lessons, in a future blog post.
For now, the USF Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice joins Human Rights Watch (HWR), Amnesty International, and human rights organizations throughout the world in urging for the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners illegally arrested and detained by the Myanmar junta pursuit to their military coup. We endorse the statement of HRW’s Asia Director Brad Adams:
“The military’s actions show utter disdain for the democratic elections held in November and the right of Myanmar’s people to choose their own government. We are especially concerned for the safety and security of activists and other critics of the military who may have been taken into custody. The military should recognize that it will be held accountable for its actions, including any mistreatment in custody and excessive use of force. We urge concerned governments to speak out forcefully against the military’s actions and consider targeted sanctions against those responsible….The military’s outrageous assault on democracy, following atrocities against the Rohingya, should be a clarion call for the world to act as one to finally get the military out of politics and put the interests of Myanmar’s people ahead of all other considerations.”
And we endorse the statement by Ming Yu Hah on behalf of Amnesty International:
“The arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, senior officials and other political figures is extremely alarming. Unless those detained can be charged with a recognizable criminal offence under international law, they must be immediately released.”
“The Myanmar military must clarify on what legal basis they have been detained. They must also guarantee that the rights of those arrested are fully respected, including against ill-treatment, and that they have access to lawyers of their own choice and to their family. They must confirm their whereabouts and grant them access to medical care.”
“This is an ominous moment for people in Myanmar and threatens a severe worsening of military repression and impunity. The concurrent arrests of prominent political activists and human rights defenders sends a chilling message that the military authorities will not tolerate any dissent amid today’s unfolding events. “Previous military coups and crackdowns in Myanmar have seen large scale violence and extrajudicial killings by security forces. We urge the armed forces to exercise restraint, abide by international human rights and humanitarian law and for law enforcement duties to be fully resumed by the police force at the earliest opportunity.”
In conclusion, the New York Times online just published a first person account of the coup from Reuters journalist Aye Min Thant, based in Yongon, Myanmar. Thant describes witinessing “a procession of trucks flying the Myanmar flag rolled down the street, carrying young men dressed in military camouflage and carrying traditional swords. They chanted slogans supporting the military and General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander of the armed forces, now the ultimate authority.” In 24 hours, democracy was smashed, and the Tatmadaw’s control was complete. Still the democratic spirit of the people has not been extinguished, even among those who have lived through prior coups; on the contrary, the flame of nonviolent resistance has been ignited anew:
The day passed in a blur of anxious conversations. We eventually collapsed into an uneasy sleep. The next day, the military’s supporters held a large rally at People’s Park, in the shadow of the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the holiest sites in the country. Students, medical workers, and lawyers began organizing a resistance movement online. We are traumatized and exhausted, but by the time the 8 p.m. curfew came into effect on Tuesday, people in my neighborhood gathered on our balconies and started banging pots and pans, announcing that we won’t give up without a fight.
