Senin, 01 Februari 2021

Myanmar military coup: 'Our world turned upside down overnight' - BBC News

Myanmar woke to the news on Monday that the military was seizing control of the country.

"I guess I'll be live tweeting a coup now," former Reuters journalist Aye Min Thant wrote on Twitter shortly before 07:00 local time (00:30 GMT).

"Things are still pretty quiet for now, though people are awake and scared. I've been fielding calls since 6am from friends and relatives. The internet is in and out and my sim card no longer works."

It said the top army commander was in charge and a one-year state of emergency had been declared. The country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, had been detained, along with other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

The move followed a landslide win by Ms Suu Kyi's party in an election in November that the army claims was marred by fraud. Ms Suu Kyi has urged her supporters to "not accept this" and to "protest against the coup".

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces until 2011, when democratic reforms led by Ms Suu Kyi ended military rule.

One resident of Myanmar's main city, Yangon, told the BBC she was ready to head out for an early morning walk when she received a message from a friend telling her of Ms Suu Kyi's detention.

The 25-year-old, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, immediately logged on to social media. She said it was like waking up to a nightmare.

"Waking up to learn your world has been completely turned upside down overnight was not a new feeling, but a feeling that I thought that we had moved on from, and one that I never thought we'd be forced to feel again," she said, reflecting on her childhood under military rule.

"What really hit me - what got me shaking, almost breaking into tears - was seeing how our regional ministers were all detained. Because this meant that they really took everyone, not just Aung San Suu Kyi," she added.

The arrest of regional lawmaker Pa Pa Han was livestreamed on Facebook by her husband.

Political activists, including filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, were also reported to have been detained in the early hours of Monday morning.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Myanmar told the BBC it had documented the arrests of at least 42 officials, and 16 civil society activists.

It said the process of verifying names was ongoing, while noting that some detainees had been released later in the day.

'Military cars roaming the city'

"We woke up with the news of the military coup in the early morning and some of our friends were detained," a local activist, who we are keeping anonymous, told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"The internet connectivity is not there anymore... I can't go out and use my phone, there is no data at all.

"This is what's happening right now. There are military cars roaming around the city," she said.

Local journalist Cape Diamond tweeted that in the capital, Naypyidaw, there had been no signal from 04:00 to 11:15 local time.

"No call, No Wifi," he later wrote on Twitter.

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Myanmar's internet disruption

By BBC Reality Check

As the military took hold of power, internet disruption affected large parts of the country.

The restrictions began at 03:00 on Monday local time. Internet connectivity dropped to 50% of normal levels of internet connectivity by 08:00.

The data shows disruptions impacting networks operators including state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and an international operator Telenor, according to internet monitoring service Netblocks.

Netblocks say its findings indicate a "centrally ordered mechanism of disruption… progressing over time as operators comply".

By midday, internet connectivity appeared to be back up to 75%.

The Myanmar government has restricted the internet before, especially in areas in Rakhine and Chin states, where the army is fighting local groups.

Article 77 of Myanmar's Telecommunications Law passed in 2013 permits the government to cut off telecommunications during a national emergency.

However, human rights groups have called for the law to be amended to protect freedom of expression.

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International and domestic TV channels, including the state broadcaster, went off air.

The bright red flags of the NLD were taken off of homes and businesses in Yangon following the military's announcement.

"My neighbour just took down his NLD flag... The fear of violence is real," journalist and researcher Annie Zaman wrote on Twitter.

She later shared a video of a flag being removed at a local market.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
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People stocked up on essential supplies at markets and queued at ATMs. Banks suspended services because of poor internet connections but said they would resume from Tuesday, according to reports.

"It's extremely upsetting - I don't want the coup," a 64-year-old Burmese man in Yangon's Hlaing township told AFP news agency while standing with a crowd outside a grocery stall.

BBC Burmese Service journalist Nyein Chan Aye said the mood in Yangon was of "fear, anger and frustration".

People line up outside a bank branch in Yangon, Myanmar, 1 February 2021.
Reuters

He said that after rushing out to buy staple supplies, like rice, many people were staying indoors waiting to see what happens next.

'Street markets open'

Some military supporters, however, celebrated the coup, parading through the city blasting patriotic music.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
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Griffin Hotchkiss, an American expat who has lived in Myanmar for about six years, said he saw a "caravan of pro-military civilians blasting loud music and 'celebrating' - while people (whom I know to be NLD supporters) on my street were visibly angry".

Some were surprised that the fallout was not more extreme.

On a trip into downtown Yangon on Monday morning, Mr Hotchkiss said that "besides some army vehicles in the City Hall compound nothing looked out of the ordinary".

"Street markets were open and people were riding buses".

Military supporters drive-by police trucks parked aside the Streets in Yangon.
Getty Images

He saw some construction workers leaving the city and was told that they had been sent home because of the issues with mobile networks.

Later in the day, Mr Hotchkiss noticed that while there were "far fewer people", many shops appeared to be open and doing business.

Michael Ghilezan, who lives in Yangon with his Burmese wife, said he had "expected to see people marching down the streets in protests, and military vehicles stationed around the city. But none of that happened".

But many are concerned about what will come next.

"We are currently trying to tell ourselves that we will move on because we've moved on from worse before," the 25-year-old in Yangon told the BBC.

"But I wish we didn't have to do that, I wish we didn't have to tell ourselves to be strong."

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2021-02-01 17:52:00Z
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South African variant: Hancock says we ‘need to come down hard’ on strain and warns Brits in infected areas to - The Sun

MATT Hancock today warned Brits we need to "come down hard" on the new South African variant as he ordered those in infected areas to stay inside - and get tested.

The Health Secretary issued the fresh warning as he revealed 9.2million people have now had their first vaccine - with nearly one million people getting a jab over the last weekend alone.

🦠 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

Matt Hancock warned Brits in several postcodes to stay inside and get tested
Matt Hancock warned Brits in several postcodes to stay inside and get testedCredit: Crown Copyright

Ministers vowed to track down every single case of the new variant - which is feared to be 50 per cent more contagious than the original strain.

Earlier today it was revealed that 80,000 Brits will be asked to take a door-to-door Covid test after more than 100 cases of the South African variant were discovered across the country.

Some of them hadn't travelled recently either - meaning there is now community transmission of the virus.

The mutation, which emerged from South Africa, and is named 501YV2, but there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease.

Mr Hancock said tonight: "We’ve now identified 105 cases of this variant here - 11 of those cases don’t appear to have any links to international travel.

"There’s currently no evidence to suggest this variant is any more severe but we need to come down on it hard."

Anyone in the W7, N17, CR4, WS2, ME15, EN10, GU21 or PR9 postcodes will be asked to get a test.

He added: "If you live in one of these postcodes where we’re sending in enhanced testing then it’s imperative that you stay at home and you get a test even if you don’t have symptoms.

"This is so important so we can break the chain of the transmission of this new variant and we’ve got to bring this virus to heel.

"This is a stark reminder the fight against this virus isn’t over yet."

It comes as:

And he went on to admit that there "may be further cases" of the South Africa variant that authorities don't yet know about - and the UK's expert scientists are trying to spot them.

Mr Hancock refused to rule out taking tougher action in the areas identified to crack downon the strain.

He said: "Of course further measures are always there but we already have this very strong set of rules, indeed very strong laws in place against people travelling unnecessarily.

"If you’re in an area where the new variant has been found, then stay at home and let’s get this new variant totally under control."

Susan Hopkins of PHE said today that thankfully, three of the vaccines have shown early results that they will work against the South African variant.

She added: "We expect all other vaccines to have a similar level of effectiveness particularly in reducing hospitalisations and death and we’re doing detailed laboratory studies at the moment with the South African variant growing in the labs - so we’ll be able to estimate that with greater robustness over the next couple of weeks."

VAX GOOD

It came as 931,204 vaccinations took place just this weekend, he told the nation at the daily press conference, and over half of people in their 70s have got the jab too.

Nine in ten over 80s have had their first dose, and every care home looking after older adults has had an offer of a jab for all residents and staff, he said.

Today the UK has also ordered another 40million vaccine doses from Valneva, he revealed, in a boost for the country's supply.

His appearance comes after Britain's record-breaking vaccination day yesterday, when more than 600,000 people across the country received a dose.

That means around 1 per cent of the entire adult population were given a jab in the space of just 24 hours.

Meanwhile a leaked Cabinet Office dossier showed the number of infections across the country is now "stabilising".

Ministers have been briefed that hospital admissions are going down but deaths will remain high for several more weeks, according to Politico.

Health minister Helen Whately said the news the rollout of vaccines to care homes is almost complete is "really tremendous news" for the whole country.

She told Sky News: "We all know they've had such a hard time during this pandemic. It's such a big moment.

"We said they would be top priority for the vaccination and we've gone in and we're delivering on that.

"It does feel like a real milestone for our care homes. It's been such a dark time and now this is a moment to give them hope and some protection against this tremendously cruel virus."

But she also warned it will be several weeks at best before any restrictions in care homes can be relaxed, as the vaccine takes time to come into effect.

She said: "At the moment it is too soon. We have had care home residents only just vaccinated."

Vaccinations at care homes are now almost complete
Vaccinations at care homes are now almost completeCredit: Reuters

On Saturday it also emerged early data shows vaccinations are already beginning to ease the pandemic and reduce cases.

Anthony Harden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said there is evidence Brits are being protected by the jabs.

He added studies show the effect of vaccines is still building a month after one dose, supporting the UK's decision to increase the wait between the first and second jabs to innoculate as many people as possible

Yesterday Mr Hancock said he hopes for a “great British summer” as the jabs rollout continues ahead of schedule.

But Ms Whately also said it was "too soon" to discuss Britain giving away some of its vast vaccine stockpile to other places, such as the EU, that have struggled with supplies.

NO MORE TIERS?

It came as Boris Johnson said earlier he may ditch regional tiers in favour of lifting rules across the country at the same time.

But he stressed he hadn't made any firm decisions yet, and was keeping an "open mind" on it.

It came after reports emerged last week he may ditch the local approach and put blanket rules in place across the country.

It may mean that people in areas where the cases are lower and lockdown is working better, might then have to wait longer for the whole of England to come out of restrictions.

The PM told reporters: "It may be that a national approach, going down the tiers in a national way, might be better this time round, given that the disease is behaving much more nationally.

"If you look at the way the new variant has taken off across the country, it's a pretty national phenomenon.

"The charts I see, we're all sort of moving pretty much in the same sort of way, I mean there are a few discrepancies, a few differences, so it may be that we will go for a national approach but there may be an advantage still in some regional differentiation as well.

"I'm keeping an open mind on that."

The Tiers system has been in place since last September - but ministers have been pursuing a regional approach since the summer.

Tier 1, with just rule of six and the 10pm curfew, and Tier 2, with no mixing inside, allowed for some freedoms and businesses to remain open.

Tougher Tiers and eventually the national lockdown has seen nearly everything shut down again to stop the spread of the virus.

Places with higher infections were put into higher tiers, and areas where the virus wasn't spreading were allowed to carry on as near to normal as possible.

Across the country there have been huge regional differences depending on the time they have been in or out of lockdown or Tiers for.

London and the South East recently saw cases drop faster after going into Tier 4 earlier than the rest of the country.

Brits should be able to enjoy a 'happy and free Great British summer' with most UK adults vaccinated, says Matt Hancock

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2021-02-01 17:12:00Z
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Myanmar coup: How the military disrupted the internet - BBC News

Facebook is popular in Myanmar, where internet usage has grown in recent years
Getty Images

As the Myanmar military took power over the weekend following their accusations of election fraud, internet disruption affected large parts of the country.

The full extent of the disruption only lasted a few hours, after which many services returned.

So what was happening?

How the internet dropped off

The restrictions to the internet were reported on Monday at 03:00 local time (20:30 GMT on Sunday).

Internet connectivity had dropped to 50% of normal levels by 08:00 local time as people were waking up and starting their day to the news of the military takeover.

"Army cut off the state media TV and radios, local phone line and internet getting disabled across the country," tweeted Burmese Reuters journalist Wa Lone.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Data from the internet monitoring service Netblocks shows disruptions on network operators, including state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and an international operator Telenor.

Netblocks says its findings indicate a "centrally ordered mechanism of disruption...progressing over time as operators comply".

By midday, internet connectivity had returned to 75% of normal activity.

A blockaded road in Naypyidaw, the capital
Getty Images

Regional variations

Some parts of Myanmar, also known as Burma, were more restricted than others.

Based at Monash University in Australia, the IP Observatory, which tracks internet connectivity around the world, found that some regions were severely disrupted.

Magway region was reporting zero internet connectivity at one point.

Yangon region, which includes the country's largest city, dropped in connectivity to about 50% compared to normal times. Restricting internet in the major cities is likely to be more difficult, as users will have access to a wider variety of providers that may implement restrictions at different intensities and at different times.

Most regions are now reporting an increase in internet connectivity.

An individual protesting against the Myanmar coup
Getty Images

A history of disruption in Myanmar

The Myanmar government has restricted the internet before, especially in areas in Rakhine and Chin states, where the army is fighting local groups. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the conflicts.

Article 77 of Myanmar's Telecommunications Law, passed in 2013, is used by the government to cut off telecommunications during a national emergency.

However, human rights groups have called for the law to be amended to protect freedom of expression and have criticised the broad scope of the law.

There were also concerns that health information about Covid-19 was being restricted to some parts of the country, because of an internet shutdown in 2020.

How do governments do it?

A government can disrupt the internet by ordering internet service providers (ISP) to limit access.

This can include blocking particular sites, such as popular social media platforms. A message such as "server not found" or "this site has been blocked by the network administrator" will show up.

Another method is known as "throttling" - when the bandwidth to a website is limited, making the internet slow and frustrating to use.

Finally, telecoms providers can shut down all access to the internet.

In theory, a telecoms company could challenge a government order. But in countries where the government has a tight grip on the media and can threaten to revoke licences, the willingness to push back on such demands is limited.

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2021-02-01 16:06:00Z
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Adam Kinzinger launches campaign to take GOP back from Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene - Daily Mail

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger says 'we traffic in lies' as he launches campaign to 'take party back' from Trump and QAnon-following congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene

  • Adam Kinzinger launches new Super PAC to take Republican Party back from influence of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene
  • PAC will allow him to play financial role in 2022 midterm 
  • 'It's time to unplug the outrage machine, reject the politics of personality, and cast aside the conspiracy theories and the rage,' he said
  • 'We traffic in conspiracies and we traffic in lies,' Kinzinger said of GOP 
  • Kinzinger one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over MAGA riot
  • Republican Party facing its own reckoning after losing White House, Senate
  • And House Republicans meet Wednesday to decide what to do about Greene, whose past social media postings show unfounded QAnon beliefs, racist views 

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has launched a new campaign to take the party back from influence of members like Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

'The Republican Party has lost its way. If we are to lead again, we need to muster the courage to remember who we are,'  Kinzinger, 42, said in a video launching his Country 1st PAC.

'Republicans must say enough is enough. It's time to unplug the outrage machine, reject the politics of personality, and cast aside the conspiracy theories and the rage,' he added.

His political action committee, unveiled in a six-minute video released Sunday, will challenge the current direction of a GOP that Kinzinger argues has wrongly become a 'Trump-first party.'

'The biggest danger right now is that we've become a party that dabbles — not just dabbles — we traffic in conspiracies and we traffic in lies,' the GOP representative from Illinois said.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger launches new Super PAC to take Republican Party back from influence of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene

Rep. Adam Kinzinger launches new Super PAC to take Republican Party back from influence of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene

'We traffic in conspiracies and we traffic in lies,'Rep. Adam Kinzinger said of GOP under influence of former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

'We traffic in conspiracies and we traffic in lies,'Rep. Adam Kinzinger said of GOP under influence of former President Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

The PAC will serve as his way to financially influence the GOP ahead of the 2022 midterm election. 

And it comes as the Republican Party is struggling with a deep divide in its ranks - between the radical beliefs associated with Trump and Greene and the traditionalists who want to return the party to its conservative roots. 

Kinzinger, a former darling of the conservative Tea Party movement, decried the views of people like Greene and made it clear he thinks House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has shown weak leadership when it comes to dealing with the more radical elements of the GOP.

But his move also shows the dilemma that many Republicans face - speaking out against Trump angers the former president's millions of loyal supporters, who are a force of their own in the GOP. 

Kinzinger revealed to NBC' 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that he has had friends and family turn against him, telling him he's 'possessed by the devil' as he distanced himself from the Trump wing. 

He was one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting the January 6th attack, which he cited as a personal breaking point for himself. Kinzinger is an Air Force veteran, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Illinois Republican Party is expected to censure Kinzinger for his impeachment vote.

He decried the actions of Greene, who has come to national prominence in recent days as her past musing on social media have come to light, including that she thought California's wildfire was caused by space lasers; claimed that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, before her death, was using a body double; and that Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin cut off a child's face while she was alive - all of which are false.

Kinzinger also had harsh words for Trump ally on Capitol Hill Rep. Jim Jordan, who is pushing to expel Republican Rep. Liz Cheney for the party leadership for criticizing Trump for inciting the MAGA mob who attacked the Capitol, leaving five dead and a path of destruction in their wake. 

'They're political terrorists,' Kinzinger said of Jordan and his allies, on a zoom call with reporters over the weekend, according to The Washington Post

But Greene also has her own strong cache of supporters. She announced on Friday she raised $1.6 million off all the controversy surrounding her and revealed on Saturday she had spoken to Trump, who, in the past, called her a 'future Republican star.' 

Republicans are facing their own reckoning as they struggle on a path forward after losing control of the White House and the Senate to Democrats.   

McCarthy is expected to meet face-to-face with Greene this week to discuss her social media postings, many of which happened before she was a member of Congress. In them, she expressed support for killing Democratic politicians, touted unfounded QAnon theories along with racist views. 

The House Republican Conference meets Wednesday to debate Cheney's status and discuss whether to punish Greene for her actions.

McCarthy originally said Trump bares some responsibility for the January 6th MAGA riot on Capitol Hill, for which the former president criticized him, reportedly calling him a 'p***y.'

But McCarthy apparently has made amends. On Thursday he met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm beach, Florida, in a meeting that was described as 'very good and cordial.' The readout was released with a photo of the two men smiling.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Rep. Jim Jordan

Adam Kinzinger referred to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (left) and Rep. Jim Jordan (right) as 'political terrorists'

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy will meet with Rep. Greene this week about her controversial social media posts and entire House GOP meets Wednesday on the issue

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy will meet with Rep. Greene this week about her controversial social media posts and entire House GOP meets Wednesday on the issue

Kinzinger criticized McCarthy for bowing down to Trump. 

'I was disappointed over the last few weeks to see what seemed like the Republican Party waking up and then kind of falling asleep again and saying, 'Well, you know, what matters if we can win in two years and we don't want to tick off the base,' he said.

'The photo,' he noted , 'shows that the former president is desperate to continue looking like he's leading the party.'

Kinzinger decried the current state of the Republican Party, telling NBC's 'Meet the Press' that 'let's take a look at the last four years, how far we have come in a bad way. How backward-looking we are, how much we peddle darkness and division. And that's not the party I ever signed up for. And I think most Republicans didn't sign up for that.' 

'It doesn't mean we don't need to fight back, you know, to defend what we believe, conservative principles,' he noted. 'But when I ask people now what is a conservative principle, how many people think that conservative principles are things like just 'build the wall' and, you know, charge the Capitol and have an insurrection?'

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2021-02-01 14:31:00Z
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Myanmar coup blindsides the west - Financial Times

Even as warning signs of a military putsch to topple Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government multiplied in recent days, some of the diplomats and analysts who follow Myanmar professionally were still discounting them. 

Taming the Covid-19 pandemic and reviving the country’s economy were seen as priorities both for the civilian government and the military, many of whose members have significant business interests. 

Despite growing tensions between the military and her five-year-old government, Aung San Suu Kyi was widely seen as a tacit defender — if not an ally — of the generals, having personally defended Myanmar’s military crackdown on the minority Rohingya in 2019 at the International Court of Justice. 

But by Monday morning that narrative had unravelled after the army arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and scores of other central and local government figures from her National League for Democracy and seized power, alleging “terrible fraud” in last year’s election. 

Monday’s coup caught most observers by surprise and abruptly cast Aung San Suu Kyi back into the role she was known for in her years in opposition, before she took office in 2016: a struggling democratic leader facing off against an omnipotent military, known as the Tatmadaw.

“The international community has repeatedly gotten Myanmar wrong,” said Aaron Connelly, a south-east Asia specialist at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“We got it wrong in the late 2000s when we thought the military had no intention to transfer authority to a civilian government; we got it wrong when it came to Aung San Suu Kyi and her authoritarian tendencies and attitudes toward ethnic minorities; and it seems we got it wrong when it came to this, too.” 

On Monday, the Myanmar leader urged her supporters, via an NLD statement, “not to accept the coup”, and to take to the streets in protest. 

This brought back dark memories of the country’s nearly five decades of military rule, and of Aung San Suu Kyi’s own past as a political prisoner who spent years under house arrest before leading Myanmar’s first democratically elected government since General Ne Win’s coup in 1962.

“The international community was and is aware of civil-military tensions,” said Moe Thuzar, co-co-ordinator of the Myanmar Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. “But there was a general thinking that the current situation — the global climate, pandemic, economic recovery needs — might have been limiting factors for such a move at this time.”

She added: “Sadly, that logic does not seem to apply here.” 

While the military’s crackdown on the Rohingya people — and criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi’s failure to condemn it — dominated her first term in office and framed much international discussion about Myanmar, unresolved conflicts with the military festered.

The NLD took power five years ago after an election held under a 2008 constitution in which the military ensured a check on civilian power by reserving three government ministries and a quarter of parliamentary seats for itself. Efforts by the government to push for constitutional reforms in parliament foundered because the party could not muster the 75 per cent majority needed for amendments.

Myanmar migrants demonstrate outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok. The Thai government said the coup was a ‘domestic issue’ © Lilian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty

During November’s election campaign, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party began alleging massive voter fraud and irregularities, and refused to recognise the result — a landslide victory for the NLD in those seats it was allowed to contest. 

When the military last week refused to rule out a coup, some in Myanmar were alarmed, and western embassies and the UN warned against any attempt to alter the election’s outcome. 

But military chief Min Aung Hlaing appeared to step back from this threat on Saturday, saying the military would abide by the constitution. 

On Monday it became clear what the military meant by this. The army said that its order was in line with article 417 of the constitution, which allowed for a state of emergency to be declared by the president for a year in circumstances that might “disintegrate the union or disintegrate national solidarity”.

The military said there would be another election, and the winning party would be transferred power. 

“It was terrible to watch this oncoming train over the past couple of days,” said Laetitia van den Assum, a former Dutch ambassador to Myanmar and member of Kofi Annan’s advisory commission on Rakhine state. “But if you look at Saturday’s statement, it was all there.” 

The international community, including Joe Biden’s new US administration, were faced on Monday with responding to the abruptly derailed democratic transition in a country that is seen as a strategically important borderland between India and China. Condemnations of the coup poured in from the White House, Europe, the UN and Australia. 

Reactions from other Asian countries were more reserved. In neighbouring Thailand, whose military has close ties with the Tatmadaw, Prawit Wongsuwan, the deputy prime minister, described the coup as a “domestic issue”. 

India, whose prime minister Narendra Modi is an ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, said it was “steadfast” in supporting Myanmar’s democratic transition, and that the rule of law and democratic process must be upheld.

China’s foreign ministry described Myanmar as a “friendly neighbour” and said it hoped it would “handle the situation under the framework of the constitution and the law, and maintain political and social stability”.

But while the Tatmadaw had grabbed power, analysts said it would face a more unforgiving international climate for military rule than in past crackdowns.

“We are not in 1962 or 1988,” said Ms Thuzar. “The global political and economic climate will be very unfavourable for a military junta seeking to justify its actions.”

Additional reporting by Amy Kazmin in New Delhi and Eli Meixler in Hong Kong 


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2021-02-01 10:42:00Z
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In Pictures: Myanmar military seizes power - Aljazeera.com

Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in early morning raids.

The army said it carried out the detentions in response to “election fraud”, handing power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s party published comments it said she wrote in anticipation of a coup, urging people to protest the military takeover.

The coup derails years of Western-backed efforts to establish democracy in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where neighbouring China also has a powerful influence.

The generals made their move hours before Parliament was to sit for the first time since the NLD’s landslide win in a November 8 election viewed as a referendum on Aung San Suu Kyi’s fledgeling democratic rule.

Phone and internet connections in the capital Naypyidaw and the main commercial centre Yangon were disrupted and state TV went off the air after the NLD leaders were detained.

Some pro-military supporters celebrated the coup, parading through Yangon in pick-up trucks and waving national flags.

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2021-02-01 10:32:09Z
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Myanmar coup: PM Boris Johnson condemns military takeover and calls for democracy to be respected - Sky News

Boris Johnson has condemned the coup in Myanmar and demanded that all captured civilian leaders be released.

The UK prime minister condemned the "unlawful imprisonment" of Aung San Suu Kyi and said democracy "must be respected".

He joined a list of other world leaders to have spoken out following the armed forces declaring a state of emergency and detaining a number of leading politicians over claims there were "huge discrepancies" in last November's election.

Soldiers stand guard at a Myanmar's military checkpoint on the way to the congress compound in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, February 1, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Image: A military checkpoint has been set up on the way to the congress compound in Naypyitaw, Myanmar

Ms Suu Kyi's party won 396 out of 476 seats, but the army claimed the election results were fraudulent - allegations that have been rejected by Myanmar's election commission.

Protests broke out near the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, with demonstrators carrying signs saying "reject the military" and "we need democracy".

On Monday morning, Mr Johnson tweeted: "I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar. The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released."

In the US, new Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed "grave concern and alarm" at events in Myanmar, a former British colony that used to be known as Burma and gained independence in 1948.

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Moment Myanmar MP is detained by military

He said: "We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections.

"The US stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development."

The possibility of the US imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar was floated by US senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat and incoming chair of the foreign relations committee.

Swift criticism also came from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said: "I strongly condemn the coup."

She called for the "legitimate civilian government" to be restored and the "immediate and unconditional release of all those detained".

The office of the UN secretary general was also among those to issue a statement condemning the developments as a "serious blow to democratic reforms".

India's foreign ministry said reports Myanmar's commander-in-chief of the armed forces Min Aung Hlaing had taken control prompted "deep concern".

"We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. We are monitoring the situation closely," it said in a statement.

And Amnesty International's deputy regional director for campaigns, Ming Yu Hah, called it an "ominous moment", telling the Myanmar military to clarify "on what legal basis" senior politicians had been rounded up.

She said: "Previous military coups and crackdowns in Myanmar have seen large scale violence and extrajudicial killings by security forces.

"We urge the armed forces to exercise restraint, abide by international human rights and humanitarian law and for law enforcement duties to be fully resumed by the police force at the earliest opportunity."

China's response was more muted.

"We have noted what has happened in Myanmar and are in the process of further understanding the situation," Foreign
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a briefing in Beijing.

"China is a friendly neighbour of Myanmar's. We hope that all sides in Myanmar can appropriately handle their differences under the constitution and legal framework and safeguard political and social stability."

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2021-02-01 09:45:00Z
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