In a pre-dawn swoop on February 1, Myanmar’s military junta – known officially as the Tatmadaw –once again pushed the civilian façade offst...
In a pre-dawn swoop on February 1, Myanmar’s military junta – known officially as the Tatmadaw –once again pushed the civilian façade offstage and directly seized control of state power. This coup returns Myanmar to the same kind of direct authoritarian rule that remains the norm in many other countries of the region, including its gigantic neighbour China in the north and Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia.
Until it began opening up its regime, the military had held the reins of the state since 1962. For the past decade, however, the military has taken a back seat, allowing a civilian, state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to run the government in exchange for a constitutional guarantee reserving a quarter of the seats in both legislative houses to the military.
It was Suu Kyi’s plan to gradually curb the army’s influence in politics, by decreasing the number of seats it was guaranteed, that led the junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, to oust her from power.
Chinese connection
Suu Kyi’s plan to reduce military representation also made China nervous. Myanmar had been the first non-Communist country to recognise the Chinese People’s Republic after its founding in 1949.
The relationship between the two countries became even warmer...
