Since seizing power from the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, has been working to entice rival ethnic political parties into its new administration, in a sign of the divide-and-rule tactics it has long used to control the country.
Saw Mu Daw , an ethnic Karen youth in the central Ayeyarwady Region, feels betrayed by the ethnic party he once supported.
Leading up to national elections in November, he and his friends went door-to-door campaigning for Mahn Nyein Maung of the Kayin People’s Party, who was running for a seat in the national legislature.
Myanmar Generals’ Path to ‘Eternal Peace’
The peace process was already at a crossroads before the coup. With the Tatmadaw now in charge, what comes next?
By
February 08, 2021
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When the National League for Democracy closed its first term in government last year, peacebuilding in Myanmar was already at a crossroads.
Now, following the military coup, observers are asking what approach the generals might take to secure the “eternal peace” prescribed in the declaration justifying the emergency state.
Armed conflicts in the ethnic areas are Myanmar’s seemingly never ending drama. They were even cited as the cause of the major political crises of the 20th century, followed by power grabs by other men in uniform. This time, however, the military is citing election irregularities and the smuggled walkie-talkie of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Central Yangon, Myanmar (file photo). According to locals there is a high level of uneasy calm right now and the army has focused on taking control of the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
HYDERABAD, Feb 2 2021 (IPS) - Yangon resident Ni Ni Aye walked to her office yesterday morning. A couple of hours before, the army had staged a coup by seizing power and declaring a state of emergency in Myanmar. Ni Aye, an employee of one of Yangon’s largest technology firms, tried to call her colleagues and family, but phone services were down. So, she decided to walk to the office and see what was happening.
Military Takeover Of Myanmar: China Suspected To Have Orchestrated Coup To Re-Establish Its Grip On The Country And Its Resources
by Jaideep Mazumdar - Feb 1, 2021 12:20 PM
Aung San Suu Kyi. (Facebook)
Snapshot
How China may have played a role in the coup staged by Tatmadaw in Myanmar.
Myanmarâs military, known as the âTatmadawâ, seized power through an early-morning coup on Monday (1 February), and installed vice-president U Myint Swe, a former general, as the countryâs president.
State counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who also heads the National League for Democracy (NLD), and the countryâs president U Win Myint, as well as many NLD lawmakers, were detained by the military hours ahead of the inaugural session of the newly-elected Parliament.