By Gabriella Garcia
Myanmar’s military force, the Tatmadaw, has declared the country’s November 2020 elections invalid, resulting in a coup that occurred on Feb. 1, 2021. The military has also announced a year-long state of emergency which has led to protests throughout the nation.
Myanmar, previously known as Burma, is located in Southeast Asia, neighboring Thailand, Laos, Bangladesh, China and India. The country is not a stranger to military coups, as it experienced a series of political unrest and changes in government following its independence from Britain in 1948.
Since its first coup, Myanmar was under military rule until 2011, when the military decided to give up some of its power. The country was considered semi-democratic up until last week when, according to BBC, armed forces seized control as a new session of parliament was set to open—a day after it had detained various members of the governing party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
The leader of the NLD, Ms Suu Kyi, is currently under house arrest and has been charged with possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies, BBC reports. Currently in power is Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Hlaing delivered his first televised address on Feb. 8, one week after the coup. In his statement, the military officer once again denied the results of the elections and declared the military will hold a new election but did not specify when.
Many question the motivation behind the coup since the military continued to hold a significant amount of power despite the democratic transition that happened a decade ago. According to CNN, the Myanmar constitution provided the military with a quarter of seats in the parliament, giving it veto power over constitutional amendments. Military generals also kept control of three key ministries—defense, border, and home affairs.
CNN reports of a power struggle between the Tatmadaw and the NLD might help explain the military’s actions, as the news source claims the two leaders have had difficulty reaching common ground since Suu Kyi took office in 2015.
In 2019, the military drafted a constitution specifically meant to constrain Suu Kyi’s national power and instated a clause that bans anyone with foreign family members from becoming president. Since Suu Kyi is married to a British man, she is unqualified for the job so the NLD created the position of State Counsellor to circumvent these laws. As a result, Suu Kyi ended up gaining more power than the military expected as she became the de facto leader of the country, according to CNN.
BBC also reports that a woman was shot in the head during protests this week and is in critical condition. As a response, in order to condemn the Tatmadaw’s authority, United States President Joe Biden has imposed sanctions on Myanmar via executive action.
According to BBC, Biden’s sanctions will focus on military leaders, their family members, and businesses linked to them. Additionally, the United States is attempting to block the military’s access to one billion U.S. dollars (equivalent to 1.4 trillion Myanmar Kyat) of government funds held in the United States.
Gabriella Garcia is originally from the Bay Area, California, and is completing her fourth year at UC Davis as a Political Science major and Professional Writing minor.
