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By: Katherine G. Huber
By: Katherine G. Huber
People around the world have been horrified by recent political news. Tales of a coup taking place in Myanmar have reached a heavily dramatic point. The military has seized control of the government and killed 15 people. But what is really happening in Myanmar? How did the coup begin . . . and where will it end?
Background
Myanmar, also called Burma, is located in southwest Asia, bordered by China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. It existed as a British colony until 1948, when it gained independence and its military began its reign. Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, maintained a strict leadership of the country from 1962, when they seized control of the government, to 2011, when the military control halted. Then, a change in government began to encourage a swivel to democracy in Myanmar.
Myanmar’s Government Preceding the Coup
In 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi, a supporter of democracy in Myanmar, was declared the de facto leader of the country. Suu Kyi became an important political figure during a set of protests in 1988. Due to her opposition of military rule, she spent over 15 years in jail or on house arrest before she was released in 2010. Interestingly, in 1991, while on house arrest, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to install democracy.
Her popularity with those outside of Myanmar has suffered due to Myanmar’s genocidal treatment of the Rohingya. During a military spree, after thousands of this minority were killed and fled the country in 2017, Suu Kyi declined to accuse the army of having committed genocide.
However, support in Myanmar was still high, and Suu Kyi’s political party emerged victorious from a general election in late January.
But their triumph wouldn’t last.
The Coup
On February 1, 2021, the military forcefully took control of Myanmar. Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Tatmadaw, is now in charge of the country and has, according to Alice Cuddy, “declared a yearlong state of emergency.” The country is actively protesting, but the military is going to great lengths to keep them at bay. Over 50 people have been killed due to the coup.
A Comparison
A party, fearing loss of control, staged a violent coup. Democracy was permanently injured. People died. People were shocked. People lost faith in their country. Does any of this sound familiar?
After Joe Biden was elected president, the Republican political party, unwilling to accept the results of a perfectly fair election, stormed the US Capitol, attempting to seize control of our government. Imagine if they’d succeeded. Imagine us being on the news. Imagine our democracy in tatters.
That’s very similar to what is happening in Myanmar.
Bibliography:
Cuddy, Alice. “Myanmar Coup: What is Happening and Why?” British Broadcasting Corporation, March 1, 2021, bbc.com/news/world-asia-55902070. Accessed March 4, 2021.
Maizland, Lindsay. “Myanmar’s Troubled History: Coups, Military Rule, and Ethnic Conflict,” Council on Foreign Relations, February 9, 2021, cfr.org/backgrounder/myanmar-history-coup-military-rule-ethnic-conflict-rohingya. Accessed March 4, 2021.
Steinberg, David I. “Myanmar,” Brittanica, February 12, 2021, britannica.com/place/Myanmar. Accessed March 4, 2021.
Muramatsu, Yohei & Faulder, Dominic. “Myanmar Suffers More Deaths than in 2007 Crackdown,” Nikkei, March 4, 2021, asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Coup/Myanmar-suffers-more-deaths-than-in-2007-crackdown#:~:text=More%20than%2050%20people%20have,latest%20uprising%20is%20more%20deadly. Accessed March 10, 2021.
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