Myanmar Coup Highlights in 90 Days
Anti-regime protesters in Yangon in February. / The Irrawaddy
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By The Irrawaddy 1 May 2021
Myanmar has now been under military rule for three months. Here is a timeline of the major events since Feb 1.
Feb 1: Myanmar’s military seizes power in a coup claiming the 2020 November general election that brought a landslide victory to the National League for Democracy (NLD) was marred by fraud. It arrests the leaders of the democratically elected government, including President U Win Myint, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and region and state ministers.
The military announces a yearlong state of emergency and says a new election will be held and power transferred to the winner.
AFP/Anonymous source
Two Myanmar air force bases in the cities of Meiktila and Magway were hit by rocket attacks Thursday, and several other cities were rocked by explosions, witnesses said, with unconfirmed social media reports saying as many as six government soldiers were killed.
While the 12-week-old military junta that overthrew Myanmar’s elected government threatened to fire striking teachers and arrested more regime opponents, witnesses told of rocket attacks on key military installations in the center of the country, far from regions controlled by ethnic armies.
Six improvised rockets were fired at the air force base in Meiktila, a city in Mandalay region that is home to the Myanmar Air Force Central Command, though only five exploded, and the other one was found later by soldiers, witnesses said.
AFP/KNU Dooplaya District
Myanmar junta forces detained dozens of protesters amid searches and arrests of protesters over the past 24 hours, including a schoolteacher and a former ward administrator who were participating in the civil disobedience movement, witnesses said Thursday.
Though security forces have cracked down on protesters in Kalay, killing at least a dozen people in a siege of demonstrators’ barricades early this month, daily demonstrations have continued. Protest leaders said at least 25 people had been arrested in the past few days for joining street protests in that Sagaing region city known for heavy resistance to the junta.
Police and soldiers are searching for homemade weapons, mobile phone apps, saved photos, and social media accounts, a Mandalay resident who is under investigation by junta forces told RFA Thursday.
April 23, 2021
THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN RANGOON IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION THROUGH THE AMERICAN LIAISON NETWORK AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO U.S. CITIZENS IN BURMA. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD.
Travel Advisory: The current Level 4 Travel Advisory is the highest level issued by the Department of State and advises U.S. citizens not to travel to Burma or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so due to the greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. As a result of these conditions, if you experience an emergency, the U.S. Embassy has limited ability to provide assistance. You can read the full Travel Advisory here.
Ethnic Armenians watching closely for signs of formal genocide recognition by US President Biden
Armenians wonder if Ottoman Turkey’s crimes set a precedent for subsequent mass killings
Updated 23 April 2021
April 23, 2021 19:49
DUBAI: Armenians mark April 24 each year as a day of sorrow. It was on this date in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire launched the first in a brutal succession of atrocities against the ethnic group living under its dominion, going on to kill more than 1 million and driving many more into exile.
To this day, modern Turkey refuses to acknowledge the crimes committed during the twilight of the ancient regime.