[Current Affairs] February 09, 2021 Top Pakistan Current Affairs for Entry Test Preparation

2. What you need to know about the Myanmar coup

What’s going on? Last week, there was a military coup in Myanmar following November’s general election. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party won against the military-backed party. The armed forces accused the NLD of election fraud, removed civilian rule, and declared a year-long state of emergency. Suu Kyi is under house arrest. President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were also arrested. Commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, is in charge now.

The details: Swarms of people in Myanmar are protesting against the coup and demanding Suu Kyi’s release. Hlaing tried to justify the military’s actions by repeating unproven allegations about election fraud (e.g. major irregularities with voter lists). The army started imposing restrictions in some areas, including curfews. Myanmar police used water cannons on peaceful protesters. The army blocked internet services over the weekend, but partially restored internet connectivity around Sunday afternoon – social media is reportedly still blocked.

Tell me more: There are many ethnic groups in Myanmar, including Rohingya Muslims. The Rohingya people in Myanmar reportedly faced mistreatment, violence and discrimination under Suu Kyi’s watch. Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingya people as citizens and labels them as illegal immigrants. In 2017, thousands of Rohingya people were killed, and more than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh after an army crackdown. Suu Kyi denied allegations about the army committing genocide, and didn’t condemn the army’s actions either.

The context: Myanmar has a population of about 54 million. The predominant religion is Buddhism, and most people speak Burmese. The army ruled Myanmar from 1962 until 2011. In 1989, the ruling military changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar. Suu Kyi became famous after campaigning to restore democracy and civilian rule. She spent almost 15 years in detention after calling for democracy and free elections. She was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2015, Suu Kyi led her NLD party to victory in Myanmar’s first contested election in 25 years.

The bottom line: Hlaing said the army will hold new elections and transfer power to the winner. However, it’s unclear when these elections will take place. Pakistan’s foreign ministry commented on the coupin Myanmar. The ministry hopes both sides will “engage constructively, uphold the rule of law, and work towards a peaceful outcome.”