The people of Myanmar (Burma) had only begun to taste freedom in the recent years after five decades of military rule, when the powerful military Generals claimed fraud in the recent electoral results. The democratic government is led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The military officials are the same ones who started the brutal attacks on the country’s minority Muslim Rohingyas. The United States labeled the attacks “genocide.” Once again Suu Kyi is among those imprisoned in the military coup. Each day teleche population has daily staged peaceful protests demanding the return of their democracy and Suu Kyi and other duly elected officials.

Protesters have daily taken to the streets in protest of the one February military coup. U.S. President Biden  on 10 February announced sanctions on the military commanders who overthrew the elected civilian government and brutally attacked citizens protesting the coup. Clearly, the civilian population does not want the return of the repressive military government. It is not clear if the U.S. sanctions will be effective in reversing the takeover. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price has said, “We repeat our calls for the military to relinquish  power, restore democratically elected government, release those detained and lift all telecommunication restrictions and to refrain from violence.”

Sources:

• Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi detained as military seizes control
• Hundreds of thousands swell Myanmar protests against coup

Photo Credit: Zinko Hein, Unsplash.com