Military Coup in Myanmar

[Kowani]

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Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy said on Monday.

The move comes after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the powerful military that stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of an election the army says was fraudulent.

Spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone that Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been “taken” in the early hours of the morning.

“I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law,” he said, adding he also expected to be detained.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained in an early morning raid along with other senior ruling party figures.

The South-East Asian nation's new parliament was due to meet today for the first time since the November election, which was won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's party, but which the military says was marred by fraud.

A group of Western powers including the United States issued a joint statement on Friday warning against "any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition".

In a statement on Sunday, the military accused the foreign diplomats of making "unwarranted assumptions".

Not much of a Tl;dr, this is a "happening right now" situation.
But basically, Myanmar held elections, and Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.
The military alleged voter fraud, and warned the government (in which they are guaranteed 25% of the seats as part of the constitution formed in 2010 at the end of the military junta), that if their concerns were not addressed, a coup "could not be ruled out"
It looks like we're here.


NSG, what do you think will be the end result of this? Will Myanmar's fragile democracy survive, or will the old hands take power again?

[Punished UMN]

Genocidaires couping genocidaires was not the thread I expected to see today.

[Sundiata]

Well, the democracy is largely gone. The country is ruled by its military.

[Valentine Z]

Oh my god... yeah, why am I not surprised that my country's news will involve this. It's tragic and honestly I will call it out that this is not very democratic of them in the slightest. However, am I surprised? Not anymore, sadly. It's not just the same for us following a coup d'état in 1962. That was ~60 years ago.

We have a lot of ground to recover from this regime mess.

[Omniabstracta]

Christ, nothing really changes does it. I shouldn’t be surprised, but Suu Kyi has been trying so hard to curry favor with the military at this point, I guess that was all for naught.

[Voxija]

Otherwise known as just your ordinary Sunday, alas.

[Zurkerx]

Hmm, so it looks to be a coup d'état. The military junta was dissolved not too long ago- back in 2011 I believe. The nation's Democracy was already fragile but it seems the military is claiming fraud after the elections were held despite the fact their claims are unfounded. That's me skimming through a complex situation of course but it's pretty clear what is happening.

[Suriyanakhon]

There's no easy solution, but I hope that the military is eventually curbed and placed under strong civil government control. It's been nothing but woes for the Burmese people since the first junta.

[Valentine Z]

Hmm, so it looks to be a coup d'état. The military junta was dissolved not too long ago- back in 2011 I believe. The nation's Democracy was already fragile but it seems the military is claiming fraud after the elections were held despite the fact their claims are unfounded. That's me skimming through a complex situation of course but it's pretty clear what is happening.

Unfortunately, I don't even follow my country's own politics, partially because there is an inherent risk of me getting who-knows-what, though that was pre-2011 and I could talk a little now. Just a little.

One thing's certain: I'm not here to pretend that we have no problem. Genocide being one, there is absolutely no justification for that, never will.

As far as I am concerned and have experienced while in Singapore, the military junta was around in 2011, yes. A by-election in 2012 helped a little, but the bigger change came in with 2015 Myanmar general election with National League for Democracy (NLD) absolutely winning. A bit of trivia: There was quite a general improvement in the Passport-updating process back when me and my family did it post-2011. The civil servants were certainly happier than I remembered in pre-2010.

However, it was complicated for no reason other than the fact that the military still has quite a concerning amount of influence over us post-2011. It is a civilian government now, that is for sure, but unfortunately not one without a boatload of problems. In short - we are relatively free, but we still have a lot of things to deal with. Those interested can go to the English version of Irrawaddy News, which I trust that they have fair journalistic integrity.

Has Myanmar’s Military Overstepped Its Constitutional Role by Undermining the Integrity of the Election?

[Senkaku]

Christ, nothing really changes does it. I shouldn’t be surprised, but Suu Kyi has been trying so hard to curry favor with the military at this point, I guess that was all for naught.

She chose dishonor and still got war, what a surprise

[Shrillland]

No good sides in this conflict now, all our support for Aung died with her backing of the Rohyinga genocide, and the army is...well, the army. General Min shall rule now, and Myanmar will go back to what it was.

[No State Here]

No good sides in this conflict now, all our support for Aung died with her backing of the Rohyinga genocide, and the army is...well, the army. General Min shall rule now, and Myanmar will go back to what it was.

"Our" as in the US?

[Shrillland]

No good sides in this conflict now, all our support for Aung died with her backing of the Rohyinga genocide, and the army is...well, the army. General Min shall rule now, and Myanmar will go back to what it was.

"Our" as in the US?

Somewhat, but I meant more everybody that wants things like democracy and respecting other human beings to be the norm. As for the Western governments, they'll probably still stand with Aung just because she's the only counter-balance to a total junta and Chinese influence.

[No State Here]

"Our" as in the US?

Somewhat, but I meant more everybody that wants things like democracy and respecting other human beings to be the norm. As for the Western governments, they'll probably still stand with Aung just because she's the only counter-balance to a total junta and Chinese influence.

Neither side is better, but one is certainly the lesser evil here. Civilian democratic governments are always preferable to military ones, and there was no evidence of election rigging, meaning the civilian government is still democratic. The fact that they are carrying out a genocide is a different matter, democratic governments can still do bad things

[Adamede]

So we going back to the nation being under a military dictatorship?

[Adamede]

No good sides in this conflict now, all our support for Aung died with her backing of the Rohyinga genocide, and the army is...well, the army. General Min shall rule now, and Myanmar will go back to what it was.

"Our" as in the US?

When see got a elected there was a lot of hope that things would change for the better in Myanmar.

Then the genocide started.

[Shrillland]

So we going back to the nation being under a military dictatorship?

Yes, it looks that way.

[Albrenia]

Jesus.

Can't say I feel sorry for anyone involved in a government engaging in genocide, but I don't think military dictatorship is exactly a step in the right direction either.

[San Lumen]

I guess the military decided they no longer wanted to be out of power and didn't;'t like that the people voted them out completely. If' theyve indeed take over again ousting them is going to be very difficult as its rumored the current capital was built to be revolution proof.

[Valentine Z]

I guess the military decided they no longer wanted to be out of power and didn't;'t like that the people voted them out completely. If' theyve indeed take over again ousting them is going to be very difficult as its rumored the current capital was built to be revolution proof.

Fun fact: Yes, Naypyithaw was built with that intent, as many have theorised. The roads are so huge that you would need a car to go anywhere. Walking protests are near impossible because of that, and that was exactly the plan.

-----

Not so fun fact: We just reported a nationwide disruption of cellphone services. Internet still seems to be working, but if that failed, we might be relying on mesh networks.

My only hope is that it won't go the way of 1988.

[Rusozak]

Jesus.

Can't say I feel sorry for anyone involved in a government engaging in genocide, but I don't think military dictatorship is exactly a step in the right direction either.

Isn't the military the ones carrying out the genocide though? It's like the SS couping Hitler.

[San Lumen]

I guess the military decided they no longer wanted to be out of power and didn't;'t like that the people voted them out completely. If' theyve indeed take over again ousting them is going to be very difficult as its rumored the current capital was built to be revolution proof.

Fun fact: Yes, Naypyithaw was built with that intent, as many have theorised. The roads are so huge that you would need a car to go anywhere. Walking protests are near impossible because of that, and that was exactly the plan.

-----

Not so fun fact: We just reported a nationwide disruption of cellphone services. Internet still seems to be working, but if that failed, we might be relying on mesh networks.

My only hope is that it won't go the way of 1988.

Just by looking it one gets that impression.

I hope it doesn't. If you don't mind me asking are you from Myanmar?

[Shrillland]

I guess the military decided they no longer wanted to be out of power and didn't;'t like that the people voted them out completely. If' theyve indeed take over again ousting them is going to be very difficult as its rumored the current capital was built to be revolution proof.

That it is, but the last revolution didn't directly involve anywhere in Naypyidaw, either.

[Valentine Z]

Just by looking it one gets that impression.

I hope it doesn't. If you don't mind me asking are you from Myanmar?

Yup, was born there. I celebrated our Independence Day back in 4th of Jan.

Though I'm not there right now.

[The Hindustani State]

I think China is involved, China has been trying to make a "string of pearls" as they call it around India as a geopolitical containment strategy and the military is very pro China