GEORGE TOWN – The chair of the Asean parliamentarians’ group for human rights has called on Myanmar’s military junta to free civilian leaders, including those voted into office, after it staged a coup early today.
Charles Santiago, who is MP for Klang, said the blatant show of force against democratically elected leaders should not go without a strong response from the region’s leaders.
Asean must use its diplomacy to de-escalate the situation and allow democracy to prevail, Santiago said in a statement.
Santiago described the development as shocking and a slap in the face of every Myanmar citizen who went out to vote in the general election in November last year.
The election saw Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy win by a landslide margin.
The army early this morning seized power, detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, declaring a state of emergency and appointing ex-general Myint Swe as acting president.
Myint Swe immediately handed over power to commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The military has since announced that it will hold fresh elections and hand power to the winning party once a year-long state of emergency has elapsed.
It said it wanted to have “real multi-party democracy... with complete balance and fairness.”
Santiago said that the military must respect the will of the people and allow parliament to proceed.
He said the move is a step backward in the struggle to uphold democracy in the country.
“The military must immediately and unconditionally release any of those arrested as part of the early morning round-up, send their tanks back to the barracks, and restore communication services.”
“The people of Myanmar had their say in November’s election, and overwhelmingly sent the message that they reject army rule.”
In another development, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) issued a statement with 30 organisations as co-signatories to denounce the coup.
“The military should immediately and unconditionally release all detained and return to Parliament to reach a peaceful resolution with all relevant parties,” said the groups.
They noted that the key leaders arrested, aside from Suu Kyi, include president U Win Myint and chief ministers U Phyo Min Thein, Dr Zaw Myint Maung, Dr Aung Moe Nyo, Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint, and U Nyi Pu.
“The man now in charge of the country, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, stands accused of committing the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, raising alarms for the human rights situation, in particular for ethnic minority and Rohingya communities.
“How the military has acted has proven it has never been committed to any democratic change. It has always been interested in preserving power,” said the groups.
They called on the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting to respond to the situation, including sending a delegation to Myanmar, establishing a global arms embargo and referring the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). – The Vibes, February 1, 2021
