JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – The Myanmar army staged a coup, detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior politicians, and took control of the country under a one-year emergency. Here are some possible reasons why the military has taken control now:
THE CONSTITUTION
The Myawaddy TV ad quoted by the military cited Article 417 of the country’s constitution, which allows the military to take control in an emergency. The announcer said the coronavirus crisis and the government’s failure to postpone the November elections during the pandemic were grounds for urgency.
The military drafted the constitution in 2008 and retains its power under the statute to the detriment of civilian and democratic rule. Human Rights Watch described the clause as a “pending coup d’etat mechanism.”
The constitution also reserves key Cabinet ministries and 25% of seats in parliament for the military, a portion that limits the power of a civilian government and excludes amending the charter without military support.
Some experts have expressed concern over why the military would upset its strong status quo, but others have noted the imminent withdrawal of senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has been commander of the armed forces since 2011.
“There is an internal military policy around it that is very opaque,” said Kim Jolliffe, a civilian and military relations researcher in Myanmar. “This could reflect those dynamics and could be somewhat of an internal coup and its way of maintaining power in the military.”
The military has appointed Vice President Myint Swe, a former military officer best known to the international community for cracking down on monk-led popular protests since 2007, known abroad as the Saffron Revolution, as head of government for a year.
Immediately after his appointment as president, Myint Swe handed over power to the country’s top military commander, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
THE ELECTIONS
In the November elections, Suu Kyi’s party won 396 of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper chambers of parliament. The Union State Electoral Commission has confirmed this result.
But the military, shortly after the election, claimed there were millions of irregularities in voter lists in 314 localities that could have allowed voters to vote more than once to commit other “voting malpractices.”
“But they haven’t really shown any evidence of that,” Jolliffe said.
The election commission rejected the demands last week, saying there was no evidence to support them.
The military takeover came in what was to be the first day of the new parliament after the election.
Instead, Suu Kyi and other lawmakers who were allegedly sworn in were detained.
A later announcement from Myawaddy TV said that the army will hold elections after the end of the one-year emergency and will hand over the power to the winner.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Telecommunications stopped almost in the morning and early afternoon. In the capital, internet and telephone access seems to be blocked. Many people in other parts of the country who could still access the Internet found their social media accounts temporarily suspended.
Barbed wire roadblocks were set up in Yangon, the largest city, and military units began to appear outside government buildings, such as the City Hall.
Residents came to ATMs and food vendors, while some shops and homes removed the symbols of Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, which usually adorn the streets and city walls.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Governments and international organizations have condemned the takeover, saying it hinders Myanmar’s limited democratic reforms.
“This is an overwhelming blow to efforts to present Myanmar as a democracy,” said Linda Lakhdhir, a legal adviser at Human Rights Watch. “His credibility on the world stage has been a huge success.”
Surveillance dogs fear a new crackdown on human rights defenders, journalists and other critics of the military. Even before the current military takeover, journalists, supporters of freedom of expression and criticism of the military have often faced legal action for public criticism of it.
A US senator has called for the United States to re-impose economic sanctions, which the United States lifted when Myanmar took over.
Myanmar’s military leaders “must immediately release Myanmar’s democratic leaders and move away from the government,” said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “If not, the United States and other countries should impose strict economic sanctions as well as other measures” against the military and military leaders, he said.
Former US diplomat Bill Richardson said the Biden administration and other governments should act quickly to impose sanctions. He also questioned Suu Kyi’s ability to lead, given the defense of military action against ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
“Because of Suu Kyi’s failure to promote democratic values as Myanmar’s de facto leader, she should step aside and let other democratic leaders in Myanmar take the reins with international support and backing,” Richardson said in a statement. a declaration.