Burmese migrants hold a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration outside the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on Feb. 1, 2021.
The Burmese military shocked the international community yesterday (February 1) with a sudden military coup that resulted in the arrest of senior State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other top leaders. The new U.S. government urged the Burmese military to release the arrested activists and officials, or else it will review the sanctions that have been lifted. The Rohingya, who fled Bangladesh three years ago as a result of the military crackdown, are rejoicing over the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi by the military.
The news of the military coup in Burma has caused huge fluctuations in the international community, with leaders of several Western countries, including Britain, France and the United States, and the UN secretary-general speaking out to condemn the military’s actions.
U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement condemning the military’s detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and the declaration of a national emergency as a direct attack on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law. He called on the international community, together, to put pressure on the Burmese military to relinquish its seized power and release the detained officials.
Biden also threatened to consider reinstating sanctions against Burma. In a statement, he said the U.S. lifted sanctions on Burma based on democratic progress over the past 10 years. But now that the situation has changed, it is necessary for the U.S. to evaluate the relevant sanctions and take appropriate action.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, noted that at least 45 people have been arrested in the arrests by the Burmese military, and that the U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the latest developments and fears that the coup in Burma could make the situation more difficult for the Rohingya in the country.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, and 120,000 of them are confined to refugee camps and unable to move freely, so the UN fears the coup could worsen their situation. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to discuss the situation in Myanmar in a closed meeting on Tuesday.
The Rohingya refugee issue has been an intractable ethnic problem in Myanmar, where the Rakhine State police station was attacked by Rohingya militants in 2017 and the military then launched a strong crackdown on Rohingya in Rakhine State, including mass killings, sexual assaults and arson, causing some 740,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.
At the Time, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries strongly condemned Myanmar’s “ethnic cleansing”, and Aung San Suu Kyi, the substantive leader at the time, was criticized by international public opinion for condoning the military’s actions.
Aung San Suu Kyi also defended the military in a hearing on the atrocities at the International Criminal Court in 2019.
Fleeing Rohingyas “rejoice”
News of Aung San’s arrest spread fast in the overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, which currently house about 1 million Rohingya.
“She is the cause of all our suffering, and shouldn’t we celebrate?” refugee leader Farid Ullah told reporters in Kutupalong, Bangladesh. Kutupalong is Home to the world’s largest refugee colony.
Mirza Ghalib, a refugee in the Nayapara camp, said some Rohingya held special prayers to welcome “justice” being done.
“As long as the camp authorities allow it, there will be a large number of Rohingya celebrating the march.”
Military chief in power sanctioned by U.S.
Following the coup in Myanmar’s military, the presidency announced the transfer of power to Min Aung Hlaing, the 64-year-old commander-in-chief of the National Defense Force, with former Vice President Myint Swe as acting president.
Min Aung Hlaing led the military in a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State in 2017 and was sanctioned by the U.S. last year along with three other military leaders.
Recent Comments