Myanmar Coup 2022-
Myanmar Coup 2022 refers to Myanmar Military is torturing its own citizens. Foreign countries are putting pressure on Myanmar’s military to restore democracy in the country. Recently, the UN and WHO condemned the killing of a WHO staff member.
Myanmar is facing difficulties as the economy slows down after covid-19. The unstable political conditions are making the situation worse. It is estimated that 25 million people in Myanmar are poor. They needed humanitarian aid to a great extent.
History of Myanmar
There were a total 3 Anglo-Burmese wars between the Britishers and the Burmese rulers.
First Anglo-Burmese War 1824-
➔ Burmese rulers captured India’s Assam and Manipur which increased tension between Britishers and Burma.
➔ It resulted in the 1st war.
➔ In this war Burma was losing and the Britishers were winning.
➔ This war came to an end by the Treaty of Yandabo.
Second Anglo-Burmese War 1852-
➔ The Britisher traders wanted to do trade with Burma, but the rulers of Burma rejected the demand of the traders.
➔ As a result, the 2nd war was started in 1852.
➔ In this war Burma lost its coastline and sea trade to the Britishers.
Third Anglo-Burma War 1885-
➔ The third war started in 1885.
➔ The King of Burma was not ready for war.
➔ So, he surrendered, and British India annexed Burma and made it part of the Indian Empire.
Burmese people were very angry with the British annexation. They started protests and guerilla wars.
Burma finally got Independence in 1948 from British India under the leadership of Aung San, who is also called the father of the Nation.
Facts about Myanmar
It is to be noted that the old name of Myanmar was Burma. Its capital was Rangoon (now Yangon). In 1989 the name of Burma was changed to Myanmar by the Military. At present the capital of Myanmar is Naypyidaw.
Myanmar is also known as the land of ‘The Golden Pagoda’. The Pagoda is a multistory and pyramid structure like temple which is famous for Buddhist religion.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi is a popular politician among the citizens of Myanmar. She was born on June 19, 1945. She is the daughter of a great leader of Myanmar Aung San.
She founded her own political party called National League for Democracy in 1988. She also won the Nobel peace prize in 1991 for her efforts to bring democracy to Myanmar. She was detained in house arrest several times from 1989 till 2010.
In 2015’s independent and fair elections, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi won and she assumed the office of state counsellor of Myanmar. However, during her reign she was criticized for the genocide of Rohingyas.
What was the Rohingya Crisis?
Rohingya is an ethnic group who follow Islamic religion. They, in the majority, live in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. The population of this ethnic group in Myanmar was about 1 million in 2017.
Rohingya have a different culture, language than the culture and language of Myanmar. Myanmar is a Buddhist majority country.
Burmese consider Rohingya as illegal migrants from Bangladesh and look upon them with discrimination. They were not given the citizenship of Myanmar. On August 25, 2017, Rohingya ARSA militants (Insurgent group) attacked the army of Myanmar in order to protect the Rohingyas.
In return, the military and the locals of Myanmar burnt the villages of Rohingyas. More than 5000 Rohingyas were killed in it. They fled to Bangladesh and India by sea-route by risking their lives. People become refugees.
The United Nations charged Myanmar with war crimes against Rohingyas. Aung San Suu Kyi defended her country against the charges of genocide of Rohingyas in the ICJ in 2019. She denied all the allegations and said that it was the action against the Rohingya militants.
Myanmar Coup 2021-
Military coup is a technical term, which means the government is thrown and the governance of the country comes under military rule.
It is not the first time of military rule in Myanmar. Earlier, Myanmar was under military rule from 1962 to 2011.
In 2008, the military framed the constitution in which defense, internal security and border- related subjects were under the control of the military. Also, 25% of seats were reserved in the parliament of Myanmar for military personnel.
In the 2020 election, her party again won the election. There were chances that the Aung San Suu Kyi-led-government may bring changes to the constitution and restrict the power of the military.
So, the military whose commander-in-chief is Min Aung Hlaing, put forward allegations that the party of Aung San Suu Kyi won because of fraud and irregularities in elections. She was arrested on 1st February, 2021. The military announced a 1 year emergency in the country. In April, 2022 she was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for corruption.
After the Myanmar coup 2022, the citizens were in a panic. They stood outside the banks in a long queue. The army shut down the internet in the entire country. Citizens in large numbers protested against the army. They were arrested, tortured, and killed.
Reaction of other countries on Myanmar coup 2022
Democratic countries like the USA, France, Australia and the European Union have criticized the Burmese military for Myanmar coup.
The USA has also imposed sanctions on Myanmar for its action.
However, China and Russia used a veto on resolutions against Myanmar coup, put forward by the USA, in the UN Security Council. China’s reaction was already predicted as Myanmar’s military is pro-China.
India is in favor of Democratic government but at the same time it is not completely against military rule as the Indian army has good relations with Burmese army.
In short, military rule is not considered good as no one can openly condemn the policies of the military. They can not raise their voices against the rule of the military. They lost their human rights as the military could arrest and torture them.
