On February first, Myanmar’s armed military forces carried out a coup d’etat. In the early hours of the morning, they detained high ranking members of the country’s ruling party, the National League of Democracy, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the state counselor, and leader of the party, and U Win Myint, the lawful president. The military has declared a state of emergency and plans to take over for at least a year.
The military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, claims voter fraud for the second democratic election which took place in November 2020, an election NLD won in a landslide. Tensions have been growing ever since and more people publicly against the military are being detained. The military junta ended in 2011 but they never lost any power. The timing is no coincidence either since a whole new government was supposed to take its place at 9 am.
All schools have been suspended, almost all telecommunications have been cut. All news broadcasters are off-air, except for the military-controlled channel. There is no connection with parliament in the capital city Nay Pyi Taw. People are lining up at ATMs since banks are closed and delivery services have been suspended.
On international fronts, Washington “condemns” what is happening and calls for the military to reverse these actions. The Australian Foreign Affairs Minister calls for the release of those detained unlawfully. South Korea, India, and the UK are against this as well.
In Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, everyone is scared. We can’t call our relatives and we can't go out after 8 pm since martial law has been put into action. Those who still have access to the internet are checking news outlets every minute. There is the threat of all telecommunications being cut off and anyone who has publicly opposed USDP is under the threat of being arrested. We just want peace and democracy and this situation threatens discord and civil war.
Writer - Lily Tan
Editor - Priyam Kusundal
Illustrator - Ishika Chakraborty
Graphics - Jhem Picache
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