JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Myanmar’s army has staged a coup, arrested leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking politicians, and taken control of the country under a state of emergency. one year. Here are some of the possible reasons why the military has now taken control:
THE CONSTITUTION
The ad on Myawaddy TV, owned by the army, mentioned Article 417 of the country’s constitution, which allows the military to take over in emergencies. The announcer said the coronavirus crisis and the government’s failure to postpone the November elections during the pandemic were reasons for the emergency.
The military drafted the constitution in 2008 and retains power according to the charter at the expense of the democratic and civilian government. Human Rights Watch has described the clause as a “pending coup mechanism.”
The constitution also reserves key Cabinet ministries and 25% of Parliament seats for the military, a part that limits the power of a civilian government and rules out modifying the charter without military support.
Some experts expressed bewilderment as to why the army would alter its powerful status quo, but others pointed to the imminent withdrawal of senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has been commander of the armed forces since 2011.
“There is an internal military policy around this, which is very opaque,” said Kim Jolliffe, a civilian and military relations researcher in Myanmar. “This could reflect those dynamics and may be a bit of an internal coup and their way of maintaining power within the military.”
The military has assigned Vice President Myint Swe, a former military official best known to the international community for cracking down on popular protests led by 2007 monks known abroad as the Saffron Revolution, as head of government for a year.
Immediately after he was appointed president, Myint Swe handed over power to the country’s top military commander, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
THE ELECTIONS
In the November election, Suu Kyi’s party captured 396 of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament. The state Trade Union Electoral Commission has confirmed this result.
But the military, shortly after the election, claimed there were millions of irregularities on voter lists in 314 municipalities that could have allowed voters to vote multiple times or commit other “bad voting practices.”
“But they haven’t really shown any proof of that,” Jolliffe said.
The election commission rejected the claims last week and said there was no evidence to back them up.
The military inauguration came what was to be the first day of the new Parliament after the elections.
Instead, Suu Kyi and other lawmakers who were allegedly invested in the office were arrested.
A later announcement on Myawaddy TV said the army would hold an election after the one-year emergency ended and hand over power to the winner.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW
Telecommunications stopped almost in the morning and early afternoon. In the capital, it appears that internet and telephone access was blocked. Many people in the country who could still access the Internet found that their social media accounts had been temporarily suspended.
Blocks of barbed wire roads were established through Yangon, the largest city, and military units began to appear outside government buildings such as City Hall.
Residents turned to ATMs and food vendors, while some shops and homes removed the symbols of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, that usually adorn the city’s streets and walls.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Governments and international organizations have condemned the takeover, saying it is delaying the limited democratic reforms Myanmar has made.
“This is an extremely overwhelming blow to efforts to present Myanmar as a democracy,” said Linda Lakhdhir, legal adviser to Human Rights Watch. “His credibility on the world stage has been a great success.”
Watchdogs fear a new crackdown on human rights defenders, journalists and others who criticize the military. Even before the current military takeover, journalists, free speech advocates, and military critics often faced legal action to publicly criticize it.
A U.S. senator raised the possibility that the United States could re-impose economic sanctions, which the U.S. lifted when Myanmar passed into civilian rule.
Myanmar’s military leaders “must immediately release Myanmar’s democratic leaders and step down from the government,” said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Otherwise, the United States and other countries should impose strict economic sanctions as well as other measures” against the military and military leaders, he said.
Former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson said the Biden administration and other governments should act quickly to impose sanctions. He also questioned Suu Kyi’s ability to lead given her defense of the military’s actions against ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
“Because of Suu Kyi’s failure to promote democratic values as Myanmar’s de facto leader, she should step aside and let other democratic leaders in Myanmar take the reins with support and international support,” Richardson said in a statement.