Military Coup in Myanmar. What Happened?
Early this morning, the army in Myanmar held a coup against the government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of her governing party- the National League of Democracy….
Early this morning, the army in Myanmar held a coup against the government and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of her governing party- the National League of Democracy.
All authority has for now been given to the top army commander and a one-year state of emergency has been declared in Myanmar.
Why?
The army has said that the elections held in November last year were not right and that’s why they did this
It is important to know that Myanmar has had a long history of military rule.- it was ruled by armed forces from 1962 until 2011. There have also been many civil wars in the country.
However, democratic reforms led by the notable leader, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi ended the military rule (in 20111) and brought democracy to the country.
But now the military has taken over again – and this is the first coup in Myanmar against a civilian government since 1962 and a violation of the Constitution.
Where’s Myanmar?
It’s very close to India
What is a coup?
A coup (or coup d’état) is the forceful removal of an existing government from power – this usually happens in a violent manner. It is usually carried out by the military, a dictator, or any other political force that wants to forcefully take away power from the government.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi is the youngest daughter of Aung San, Father of the Nation of Myanmar. She is a noted politician and activist.
As part of her protests and activism against the military rule in Myanmar, she spent nearly 15 years in detention (house arrest) between 1989 and 2010. AT this time she was alone and her family was in the UK. She wanted to stay in her country and fight against military rule, so she was put under house arrest.
She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
In the 2015 elections, her party National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory. While she was prohibited from taking the seat of the President, because her husband and children were foreign citizens, she assumed a newly-created position of State Counselor of Myanmar. This position and role were similar to that of a Prime Minister.
NLD won the elections for the second term in November 2020 and the military-led opposition has accused the party of election fraud.
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