Myanmar, also known as Burma is yet another
country to have jumped onto the bandwagon of disarray and lawlessness.
In April 2016, Myanmar had entered into a phase of renaissance when the country finally assumed the semblance of democracy under a civilian government headed by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.
Sadly, the sun has set on the democracy in Myanmar.
Reason behind the Military Coup:
Unfortunately, the country could not keep up with the
constitutional principles underlining democracy and has yet again taken to lawlessness
and disorder by initiating a military coup against the Nation League for
Democracy (NLD) party that recently won the Myanmar elections by a landslide of
votes.
The opposition has accused the winning party of resorting
to fraud and malpractices and have also demanded for a re-election.
The election commission thoroughly investigated the
matter before declaring the legitimacy of the win by the NLD party.
The verdict of the election commission taken with a
pinch of salt; a military coup was set up against the NLD government the day on
which the parliament was set to swear in the ministers of the newly and legitimately
elected cabinet.
What happened in the military coup?
The sudden seizure of the power from the NLD
government into the hands of the military in Myanmar by way of a Military Coup,
took place right outside the parliament building, several leaders of the NDL
government have been taken in and the whereabouts of a few are yet to be known.
The head of the civilian government and the face of
democracy in Myanmar, Ms Suu Kyi who is seems to be the main target of the
coup, is said to have been under house arrest along with several baseless charges
that have been filed against her, including breach of import and export laws
and possession of unlawful communication devices.
Who is in-charge now?
The power of the government lies in the hands of the
military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, who has taken yet another step
towards anarchy by abruptly declaring a state of emergency for a span of one
year all over Myanmar and replacing all the ministers holding important portfolios
in the country with military personnel.
International Reactions:
The
seizure of power from a democratic party is bound to attract the attention from
democratic and republic countries like the US, UK and Australia, who have
condemned the coup and have threatened to reinstate sanctions on the country.
South Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand
and Philippines have cited that its an “internal matter” and they prefer to
stay out of the controversy.
Legitimacy of the Coup:
Several scholars have questioned the legality of the military take-over. The military claims to have legally handled the transfer of power by the NLD into the hands of the military, but the use of coercion and violence while doing so negates the legality and validity of the same.
Moreover,
the transfer of power would have been legitimated only if the President at the
time had vacated his role and given consent along with the Vice-President and
speakers of the Upper and Lower house.
This is nothing but an ostentatious display of
power and contempt towards democracy on part of the military.
The Way Forward:
The
immediate course of action should be to free the people of Myanmar from the
state of tyranny and turmoil.
The
world as a whole should stand up to the injustice in Myanmar, and impose
sanctions on the country for such misrule, which would also set a precedent for
the future.
Democracy,
the government of the civilians, does not stand for lawlessness and disorder
and is far from creating disruption in the country and getting away with it.
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