Myanmar coup

Myanmar, formerly Burma, is yet again under complete military rule after the previous coup, placed in 1962, was lifted in 2011, allowing Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party (NLD) to form a government following a landslide victory in elections held in 2015. Even though the system that was put in place after the elections was a hybrid one whereby military generals oversaw many of the state’s affairs, keeping a close and strict check on the civilian setup, it was still a step closer to a semi-normal functioning democracy. The latest coup that has been met with outrage from the people of Myanmar, who have held conservative protests so far out of fear of action by the military, is a huge setback to the progression of democracy in the country. Reasoning for the seizure of power provided by the military is typically based on untruths, that the election was heavily rigged, even though no such irregularity has been found by the country’s election commission.

There has been widespread condemnation from progressive democratic countries. Pakistan, which has its own unfortunate history of multiple subversions of the Constitution by the military, has hoped for “a peaceful outcome”. Oddly, there has been no comment on these developments by Prime Minister Imran Khan directly, as so many other leaders of the world have made, some going as far as threatening sanctions like US President Joe Biden. A fierce opponent of military dictatorships in the past, Mr Khan was highly critical of Gen Musharraf’s regime’s policies. Since his party, the PTI, has come to power, however, he has altered this stance and prefers to keep a much closer working relationship with Pakistan’s military. Whatever the reason for the delay may be, one hopes that he will issue an appropriate statement soon. Myanmar is a country that is plagued with ethnic and religious conflict that remains unresolved and continues to cause unimaginable violence. Ms Suu Kyi’s inaction and ignorance over the Rohingya genocide in her own country, despite her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights, is an irreparable blight on her reputation and profile. With this interruption in the democratic process, it seems the country’s many pending issues will take even longer to resolve.