Myanmar back under military rule following coup

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After a period of quasi-democracy that began in 2011, the military of Myanmar on Monday overthrew the country’s democratic government in a coup d’état. The Southeast Asian nation is now back under full military rule and prominent leaders in the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party including Aung San Suu Kyi have been detained.

Myanmar’s Parliament was set to conduct its first session since the country’s Nov. 8 elections following the NDL’s victory of 83% of the available seats in lower and upper houses of Parliament. But, military leaders questioned the election despite a review from an election commission rejecting claims of fraud and stating that there was no evidence to support them. 

“We urge the military, and all other parties in the country, to adhere to democratic norms, and we oppose any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition,” said the statement issued by the US, EU, UK, Australia and others.

The NDL is not without its critics. Aung San Suu Kyi, the party leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has been widely condemned for what the United Nations described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” of the country’s Rohingya Muslim ethic minority popution.

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