Here’s what you need to know about the situation.
Why did the army in Myanmar take over?
The military justified its takeover by claiming that voter fraud was widespread during the November 2020 general election, which in turn brought Suu Kyi’s party an overwhelming victory.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) acted disastrously in the poll, allaying hopes among some of its military backers that it would take power democratically – or at least elect the next president. The military then claims that, without providing evidence, there were more than 10.5 million cases of ‘potential fraud, such as non-existent voters’, and called on the Electoral Commission to disclose the final ballot data.
The commission rejected allegations of voter fraud.
It was only the second democratic vote since the previous junta began a series of reforms in 2011, after half a century of brutal military rule that had put Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, into poverty and isolation.
Why is Myanmar protesting?
The demonstrations are especially dominated by young people who grew up with a level of democracy and political and economic freedoms that their parents or grandparents did not have, and who are not willing to give up. .
Meanwhile, a civil disobedience movement has seen thousands of white and blue-collar workers, from medics, bankers and lawyers to teachers, engineers and factory workers, leave their jobs as a form of resistance to state capture.
How does the army react?
Over the past week, the military has intensified its response to the protests. Footage and images on social media show how crumpled corpses lie in splashes of blood on the street and young protesters dressed in thin plastic helmets hiding to cover police bullets behind temporary shields.
Amnesty International said the military was increasingly using deadly tactics and weapons commonly seen on the battlefield against peaceful protesters and bystanders. Amnesty said hard-line troops – which have been documented to have committed human rights abuses in conflict areas – were deployed to the streets. UN special envoy for human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, said the army’s “cruel response” to peaceful protests was likely to reach the legal threshold for crimes against humanity.
Under the guise of a nightly internet outage, security forces go door to door in raids and pull people out of their homes. Many of those who are randomly detained are kept out of contact with family and friends, their condition or where they do not know.
At least four of the deaths in recent days are individuals arrested and detained by the junta, including two officials from the ousted NLD party. According to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, all four died in custody. According to family and activist groups, the two NLD officials were tortured.
Despite the danger, thousands of young protesters continued to defy the army and take to the streets every day, and local reporters and civilian journalists continue to endanger their lives by bringing the actions to life and documenting them.
“The MPF is doing its job in line with democracy practices and the measures it is taking are even more lenient than those in other countries,” he said.
What happened to Aung San Suu Kyi?
Suu Kyi was once celebrated as an international democracy icon. She was a former political prisoner and spent 15 years under house arrest as part of a decade-long struggle against military rule.
Her release in 2010 and the election victory five years later were praised by Western governments as an important moment in the country’s transition to democratic government after 50 years of military regimes.
Suu Kyi has not been seen by the public or her lawyers since she was detained. Deposed President Win Myint has also been detained since the coup and is facing similar charges.
Officials with the ruling NLD have been arrested or hidden since the coup. A group of former NLD legislators formed a kind of parallel civilian parliament – called the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) – and campaigned for international recognition as the legitimate government.
What is the UN doing?
Protesters, activists and civilians have pleaded for the international community to intervene and protect the Burmese from the attacks of the military.
China did not directly condemn the military takeover, but commenting on the agreement with the Security Council, UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said: “It is important that the members of the Security Council speak with one voice. be for the relief of the situation in Myanmar. ‘
Following the burning of Chinese-owned factories in Yangon this week, China has adopted a more aggressive tone. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar said: “China urges Myanmar to take further effective measures to stop all acts of violence, punish the perpetrators according to the law and to secure the life and property of Chinese enterprises and staff in Myanmar to ensure, “according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
Many people in Myanmar become frustrated with mere words of condemnation and demand more sensible action.
A group of 137 non-governmental organizations from 31 countries has called on the UN Security Council to urgently impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar.
Andrews, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called on member states to “deny recognition of the military junta as the legitimate government.” He also called for an end to the supply of weapons and ammunition to the junta, saying multilateral sanctions should be ‘imposed’ on senior leaders, military-owned and controlled enterprises and the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.