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Once again, the military has taken power in Myanmar. Once again we see military leaders defying the will of the people. The Myanmar coup is a slap in the face to all democracy advocates. What exactly is the purpose of the Myanmar coup is somewhat unclear to me. In practice, the military already had great influence. The accusations of electoral fraud that they use as a pretext for their total takeover of power are in the best Trump style.

The election in November triggered the Myanmar coup

In the elections to the National Assembly in November 2020, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party “National League for Democracy” (NLD) received 80% of the vote. According to the constitution, the military party USDP was guaranteed 25% of the seats in the National Assembly. These were not by choice. In addition, the USDP received 25 seats. In comparison, the NLD got 346 seats, while 322 were required to get a majority. The election is described as an example of the people wanting further democratization of the country.

The election in November has nevertheless been met with some criticism because elections were not held in the parts of the country where there were conflicts. The military uses this, among other things, as an argument for the Myanmar coup.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the Rohingya population

It is of course what many refer to as a genocide of the Rohingya population that is the big problem. The treatment of this population has drawn strong international criticism against Aung San Suu Kyi for her role in the persecution of the Rohingya population. As Prime Minister of Myanmar, she has almost been a passive spectator to the military’s abuses. Thousands have been killed and the rest have largely fled to Bangladesh, where the world’s largest refugee camp is.

Aung San Suu Kyi has probably felt pressured into a passive role in these abuses. The fear that the military would take over the government probably meant that she did not condemn the actions as the international community demanded. I have previously written two blogs about this. One is about the refugees we forget. The second blog about the world’s largest refugee camp .

A coup by the military is reprehensible. The democratization process we have seen sprout in Myanmar was something the people wanted to continue. Hopefully, a democratization process will also be in the interests of the Rohingya population.

Sources:

VG: That is why the military coup is coming now: – A severe setback for Myanmar

ABC Nyheter: Strong international reactions to the coup in Myanmar

Panorma: Myanmar: Avlyser valget i konfliktområder

Aftenposten: Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won the election in Myanmar