The LATEST ON MYANMAR

The coup started on February 1st, when multiple leading members of the NLD party (National League for Democracy), such as the then-current president Aung San Suu Kyi were detained and arrested in a series of early-morning raids, with the whistleblower of the coup, spokesperson Myo Nyunt, on radio broadcast stating that the next likely target would be himself. The raid and broadcast marked the coup as being underway. The same day, the military was seen inside Myanmar's largest city and capital, hijacking TV channels and declaring that the military had control of the country for a full year.

The coup started on February 1st, when multiple leading members of the NLD party (National League for Democracy), such as the then-current president Aung San Suu Kyi were detained and arrested in a series of early morning raids, with the whistleblower of the coup, spokesperson Myo Nyunt, on radio broadcast stating that the next likely target would be himself. The raid and broadcast marked the coup as being underway. The same day, the military was seen inside Myanmar's largest city and capital, hijacking TV channels and declaring that the military had control of the country for a full year.

Over the course of the coup, a number of arrests were made, mostly of those who had been outspoken against the military, such as Shwe Nyar War Sayadaw, a critic of the military and leader of earlier protests in Myanmar. A new governing body was established, curfews were set in place in a number of cities, and protests began across the country in the forms of civil disobedience, labour strikes, and boycotts.

In response to the coup in Myanmar, various different countries and government organizations have spoken out about what had happened and whether or not they agreed with the overthrowers. While some, such as Cambodia, have declared that they are neutral, the majority of responses have either been condemning the Myanmar military or calling for a resolution between both sides.

The military having rule over Myanmar has worried many, which is evident by the overwhelming disapproval from various places, but what specifically about the Myanmar coup may negatively affect these other countries? A statement put out by a White House spokesperson said that the US was opposed to any attempts to alter the results of the democratic elections of Myanmar (meaning the military coup). The worry about a democratic election being stopped is shared by a number of countries, like Japan and France, who have issued similar statements to the USA.

One notable thing about the coup is that it hasn't been mentioned a lot recently, if at all by major news networks. Why? It may be because most of the major events of the coup have passed, and the military still has control of the nation. Most nations have already stated their stance on the matter, and a large number of major news networks have already given reports on it.

Two questions remain: Is there any way to stop the coup? And how can civilian rule be brought back? Well, a single person cannot do so much. The best bet would possibly be by weakening the military government. The USA has already stopped giving money to Myanmar by stopping all trade and business with the nation, which weakened the government by limiting how much they are able to do with the funds that they currently have.

Something else could just be showing your support for the citizens that have been affected by the coup, such as through social media. Expressions of support can be comforting in a time like this. There is another question, though: what will happen to Myanmar in the future, and what will the consequences of this be? One immediate consequence is the loss of all the progress towards democracy that Myanmar had been making. The power the citizens had slowly been gaining over the last few years has suddenly been halted. The progress that had been made over roughly 30 years has suddenly stopped, and it’ll likely be the same amount of time, if not longer, for there to be another transition back to democratic rule. Another likely consequence is a general fear/upsetness in people outside the government. The new government has shown they will take force against those who’ve spoken out against them, which will likely cause a sense of fear.

This does raise a question: What does this mean for the future of Myanmar? A short answer is that it's unpredictable, as this is still a relatively recent event. The one thing that most of us can do is to simply hope for the best and hope that the democratic rule in Myanmar can be restored at some point in the future.