As Myanmar goes under the control of the military, the only person who gave the country its sense of freedom has been put behind bars. Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces until 2011, when democratic reforms led by Aung San Suu Kyi ended military rule.
Today, Burma woke up to be put under military control after almost a decade. All the civilian leaders have been detained, as the re-election has been considered null and void by the armed forces of Myanmar. It was under the able leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi that Burma could live a free existence. But Monday saw freedom being throttled again. For the past five years, Suu Kyi and her once-banned National League for Democracy (NLD) party led the country after being elected in 2015 in the freest and fairest vote seen in 25 years. On Monday morning, the party should have begun its second term in office.
Unfortunately, military continues to dominate a majority of seats in the parliament and ministries, a flaw that is inbuilt in the country’s constitution. As the Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing took over the functioning of the capital city, leaders were systematically arrested and are now being held in an undisclosed location. Internet access has been limited. Television viewing has been limited too.
What also followed was a quick reshuffle of the ministries. The military announced that almost 24 ministers and deputies were being removed with 11 replacements already been earmarked, including in finance, health, the interior and foreign affairs. The whole skirmish has now become a full-fledged fight, as the army-backed opposition could not win majority in the recent elections. In November 2020, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won majority in election.
After months of confrontation, the army demanded re-elections, a request that was declined by the Election Commission. The allegations of widespread fraud were found to be baseless. Political analysts have reasons to believe that the coup was timed right-just before the first parliamentary session was to convene after the November elections have happened. Now, that the coup has been put into effect, there will be no cementing of the ministries that were elected through proper voting system. The fate of Burma has gone back to the dark ages where there was no democracy to be seen. It is a sad state of affairs, yet again, while the new elect President Joe Biden from US has already threatened sanctions on the coup, supported by the UN and UK.
