By Elishya Perera
NEW YORK (CU)_The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Tuesday (Feb 2) to discuss a potential international response to the military coup in Myanmar, as the country’s civilian leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and several other government figures continue to be detained in the capital Naypyidaw.
The UN envoy for the United Kingdom, Barbara Woodward, who holds the rotating presidency of the Council for February said the Council will look at “a range of measures”, with the idea of respecting ” the people’s will expressed in the vote”.
Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner, first came into power in 2015 through a landmark election victory, following 50 years of military governance in Myanmar.
Despite her efforts to embark on some democratic reforms in the country, Myanmar’s military was constantly in conflict with the quasi-civilian government, by having a quarter of seats in parliament allocated to the military, and retaining the control of key ministries such as defence and home affairs.
However, Monday’s crackdown is centred around November’s parliamentary election, in which the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) performed poorly. Therefore, the military has repeatedly disputed the election results, claiming, without evidence, that there have been more than 10 million cases of potential fraud.
Accordingly, the country’s army seized power in a bloodless coup, arresting Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected civilian leaders. The military also imposed a one-year state of emergency, claiming that they would hold a “free and fair” election after the election commission has been “re-constituted”, and will subsequently return power to the winning party.
The United States were among the nations which have condemned the coup, with US President Joe Biden threatening to impose new sanctions against Myanmar. He said the events were a “direct assault on the country’s transition to democracy and rule of law”, and will therefore necessitate “an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities”.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has also hinted on the possibility of imposing sanctions in response to the actions of the military. He said the international community had to act “in a language that the Myanmar junta will understand”. “And we know from experience they understand the language of economic sanctions,” he noted.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how China and Russia, as permanent members of the Council, would act in the meeting on Tuesday, as these two world powers used their veto powers to shield Myanmar from significant action from the Council over the violent military operations in 2016 and 2017 which forced 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, several other nations, including the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, have released statements denouncing the coup and calling for the release of those detained.
“I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a Tweet. “The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released.”
However, China has so far declined to criticise the events and has instead called on all sides to “resolve differences.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China is “a friendly neighbour of Myanmar, and we hope that all parties in Myanmar will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability.”
