2021 Myanmar coup d'état

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
This article documents a current event. Information may change
rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may
be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most
current information. Please feel free to improve this article (but note that
updates without valid and reliable references will be removed) or discuss
changes on the talk page. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this
template message)

2021 Myanmar coup d'état

Part of the internal conflict and political crisis in Myanmar

Deposed State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi (left), and coup

leader Min Aung Hlaing (right)

Date 1 February 2021

Location Myanmar
Result Military coup d'état successful

 End of civilian rule and

imposition of military rule
 Win Myint and Aung San Suu
Kyi detained and deposed
 Twenty-four ministers and
deputies deposed[1]
 Swearing in of members of
the Assembly of the
Union prevented
 State of emergency declared for a
period of one year
 Min Aung Hlaing's assumption of
the role of chairman of the State
Administrative Council
 Myint Swe's ascension to the
office of acting president
 New cabinet formed
  New executive governing body,
the State Administrative Council,
established

Belligerents

 Government of Myanmar  Tatmadaw

Commanders and leaders

 Aung San Suu Kyi  Min Aung Hlaing

(State Counsellor of Myanmar) (Commander-in-Chief of the

 Win Myint Tatmadaw)

(President of Myanmar)  Myint Swe

(Vice-President of Myanmar)

Casualties and losses

None reported

show
 v

 t

 e
Internal conflict in Myanmar

The 2021 Myanmar coup d'état began on the morning of 1 February

when democratically elected members of Myanmar's ruling party, the National League
for Democracy, were deposed by the Tatmadaw—Myanmar's military—which vested
power in a stratocracy. The Tatmadaw declared a year-long state of emergency and
declared power had been vested in Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung
Hlaing. The coup d'état occurred the day before the Parliament of Myanmar was due to
swear in the members elected at the November 2020 general election, preventing this
from occurring.[2][3][4] President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were
detained, along with ministers and their deputies and members of Parliament.[5][6]

Contents

 1Background
 2Events
o 2.1Motives
 o 2.2Legal basis
 3Reactions
o 3.1Protests
o 3.2Domestic
o 3.3International
 4See also
 5References

Background

The NLD won a landslide victory in the 2020 Myanmar general election.

Myanmar (formerly Burma) has been beset with political instability since it declared
independence from Britain in 1948. Between 1958 and 1960, the military formed a
temporary caretaker government at the behest of U Nu, the country's democratically-
elected prime minister, to resolve political infighting. [7] The military voluntarily
restored civilian government after holding the 1960 Burmese general election.[8] Less
than two years later, the military seized power in the 1962 coup, and, under the
leadership of Ne Win, precipitated 26 years of military rule.[9]
In 1988, nationwide protests broke out in the country. Dubbed the 8888 Uprising, the
civil unrest was sparked by economic mismanagement, leading Ne Win to step down.
[10]
 In September 1988, the military's top leaders formed the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC), which seized power.[10] Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter
of the country's modern founder Aung San, became a notable pro-democracy activist
during this period. In 1990, free elections were allowed by the military, under the
assumption the military enjoyed popular support. Ultimately, the elections resulted in a
landslide victory for Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy. However, the
military refused to cede power and placed her under house arrest. [11][12][13]
The military remained in power for another 22 years until 2011, [14] following the
military's Roadmap to democracy, during which the 2008 Constitution of Myanmar was
drafted. Between 2011 and 2015, a tentative democratic transition began, and elections
held in 2015 resulted in a victory for Suu Kyi's party, the National League for
Democracy. However, the military retained substantial power, including the right to
appoint 1⁄4 of parliament members.[5][15]
The 2021 coup came in the aftermath of the general election on 8 November 2020, in
which the National League for Democracy won 396 out of 476 seats in parliament, an
even larger margin of victory than in the 2015 election. The military's proxy party,
the Union Solidarity and Development Party, won only 33 seats.[5]
The army disputed the results, claiming that the vote was fraudulent. The coup attempt
had been rumored for several days, prompting statements of concern from Western
powers such as the United Kingdom, France, the United States,[5] and Australia.[16]

Events
NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said that Suu Kyi, Win Myint, Han Tha Myint, and other
party leaders had been "taken" in an early morning raid. Nyunt added that he expected
to be also detained shortly.[17] Numerous communications channels stopped working –
phone lines to the capital, Naypyidaw, were interrupted, state-run MRTV said it was
unable to broadcast due to "technical issues," [17] and widespread Internet disruptions
were reported beginning around 3 a.m. [18] Soldiers were seen in Naypyidaw and the
largest city, Yangon.[19]
The military subsequently announced on military-controlled Myawaddy TV that it had
taken control of the country for one year.[20] A statement signed by acting president Myint
Swe declared that responsibility for "legislation, administration and judiciary" had been
transferred to Min Aung Hlaing.[21] The National Defence and Security Council – chaired
by acting president Myint Swe and attended by top military officers – was convened,
following which a statement was issued by the military declaring that fresh elections
would be held, and that power would only be transferred after they had concluded. [22]

A military blockade of the road leading to the Mandalay Region Government Office.

Licence-built Thunder armoured personnel carrier of Myanmar Army patroling after the coup.

All the member banks under Myanmar Banking Association had suspended their
financial services.[23]
The military also announced the removal of 24 ministers and deputies, for whom 11
replacements were named.[1]
On 2 February 2021, Min Aung Hlaing established the State Administrative Council,
comprised of 11 members, as the executive governing body. [24][25]
Motives
The military's motives for the coup remain unclear. Ostensibly, the military had posited
that alleged voter fraud threatened national sovereignty.[26] A few days before the coup,
the civilian-appointed Union Election Commission had categorically rejected the
military's claims of voter fraud, citing the lack of evidence to support the military's claims
of 8.6 million irregularities in voter lists across Myanmar's 314 townships. [27]
The coup may have been driven by the military's goal to preserve its central role in
Burmese politics.[28][29] The Defence Services Act imposes a mandatory retirement age of
65 for the Armed Forces' Commander-in-Chief. [30] Min Aung Hlaing, the incumbent,
would have been forced to retire on his 65th birthday in July 2021. [30] Further, the
Constitution empowers solely the President, in consultation with National Defence and
Security Council, with the authority to appoint Min Aung Hlaing's successor, which could
have provided an opportunity for the civilian arm of the government to appoint a more
reform-minded military officer as Commander-in-Chief. [30] Hlaing's lack of power would
have exposed him to potential prosecution and accountability for alleged war
crimes during the Rohingya conflict in various international courts.[31][32] Min Aung Hlaing
had also hinted a potential entry into politics as a civilian, after his retirement. [32]
The activist group Justice for Myanmar has also noted the significant financial and
business interests of Min Aung Hlaing and his family, as a potential motivating factor for
the coup.[33] Min Aung Hlaing oversees two military conglomerates, the Myanmar
Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL),[34] while
his daughter, son, and daughter-in-law have substantial business holdings in the
country.[33]
Legal basis
The legality of the coup has been questioned by legal scholars, including Melissa
Crouch.[35] The NLD has also rejected the legal basis for the military takeover. [36][37] During
its announcement of the coup, the military invoked Articles 417 and 418 of the 2008
Constitution as the legal basis for the military takeover.[38] However, Article 417 of the
Constitution authorises only a sitting president to declare a state of emergency,
following consultation with the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). [39] The
declaration of a state of emergency then transfers legislative, executive, and judicial
power to the Commander-in-Chief per Article 418. [39] Half of the NDSC's members at the
time of the coup were civilian members, including the president, the civilian-
elected second vice-president, and the speakers of the upper and lower house. The
military claims that the NDSC was convened, chaired by Aung Min Hlaing, to invoke
Articles 417 and 418.[40] However, this session was held in the absence of the civilian
members of the NDSC, and it is unclear whether the military had the constitutional
authority to unilaterally declare a state of emergency, since the Constitution grants the
president, who at the time had not voluntarily vacated his role, the sole authority to
declare a state of emergency.[41][35]

Reactions
Protests

A protest against the coup abroad at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.

A group of about 200 Burmese expatriates and some Thai pro-democracy activists
including Parit Chiwarak and Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul protested the coup at the
Burmese embassy on Sathon Nuea Road in Bangkok, Thailand. Some protesters
reportedly showed the three-finger salute, the symbol used in the protests calling for
democracy in Thailand.[42] The protest ended with a police crackdown; two protestors
were injured and hospitalized, and two others were arrested. [43] Burmese citizens
in Tokyo, Japan gathered in front of the United Nations University, also to protest
against the coup.[44]
Domestic
On 2 February 2021, healthcare workers and civil servants across the country, including
in the national capital, Naypyidaw, launched a national civil disobedience campaign, in
opposition to the coup.[45][46] A Facebook campaign group dubbed the "Civil Disobedience
Movement" has attracted over 100,000 followers, since its initial launch on 2 February.
  Healthcare workers from dozens of state-run hospitals and institutions have pledged
[37]

to initiate a labor strike starting 3 February.[37][47]

Residents in the commercial capital of Yangon have struck pots and pans in unison, in
opposition to the coup.[48][49] Some Yangonites staged a brief 15-minute protest rally at 8
pm on 2 February, calling for the overthrow of the dictatorship and Suu Kyi's release. [50]
Thailand's largest industrial estate developer, Amata, halted a $1 billion industrial zone
development project in Yangon in response to the coup, after commencing construction
in December 2020.[51][52] Suzuki Motor, Myanmar's largest automaker, and several
manufacturers halted operations in the wake of the coup. [51] The Yangon Stock
Exchange has also suspended trading since 1 February.[51]
International

  Condemns the coup

  Deeply concerned
  Neutral position
  Myanmar
  No public position

Many countries, including Bangladesh,[53] China,[54] India,[55] Indonesia,[56] Malaysia,

[57]
 Pakistan,[58] Philippines,[59] South Korea,[60] and Singapore,[61] expressed concern in
response to the coup, many of which encouraged dialogue between the government
and the military in order to resolve the issue. Australia,[62][63] Canada,[64] France,
[65]
 Germany,[66] Japan,[67] New Zealand,[68] Spain,[69] Sweden,[70] Turkey,[71] the United
Kingdom,[72] and the United States[73] on their part condemned the coup and called for the
release of detained officials; the White House also threatened to impose sanctions on
coup perpetrators.[74][75][76] Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam explicitly refused to support a
side, characterising the coup as an internal matter. [77][78][79]
Intergovernmental organizations, including the United Nations,[80] ASEAN,[81][82] and
the European Union expressed concern and called for dialogue from both sides. In
addition to concern, the European Union also condemned the coup and urged the
release of detainees.[83]