Burmese military coup
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Burmese military dissolves opposition parties ahead of election
The Burmese military government has dissolved 40 political parties including Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). The dissolution comes over their failure to register for an election that opponents deem a sham designed to hand power to the Burmese military junta that overthrew the government. According to state-run Myawaddy TV, 63 parties had registered at the…
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Two years ago today: the Burmese military coup
Today marks a cruel and tragic anniversary. It was on this day two years ago that military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing marched his troops on the Burmese capital and overthrew Myanmar’s elected government. They immediately arrested the democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict between the Burmese military and anti-coup activists has escalated with widespread violence…
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Ousted Burmese leader Suu Kyi appears in court on corruption charge
Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically-elected former leader of Myanmar who was ousted in a military coup last year, has appeared in court on a corruption charge. The case is one of multiple cases being brought against her, with the threat of lengthy prison time if she’s found guilty. According to comments made to Reuters by an unnamed source close…
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Former leader Suu Kyi breaks silence, urges Burmese to ‘be united’
In rare comments, the former leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has called on the Burmese people to be united. According to a Reuters report, the comments were confirmed by a source close to Suu Kyi’s legal proceedings. Suu Kyi, along with the democratically elected government, was ousted by a military coup on February 1 last year. The former…
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Burmese military junta death toll surpasses 1,000
Myanmar passed a grim milestone as the death toll at the hands of security forces after the February 1 military coup has officially surpassed 1,000 people. Since the military junta seized power, pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets nearly non-stop to demonstrate and are often met with harsh and violent suppression from the Burmese military. The Assistance Association for…
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Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
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Thai candidate selected as ASEAN envoy to Myanmar
Following the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta April 24 where nation leaders and representatives met to push for a resolution to the worsening crisis following the February 1 Burmese military coup, several steps had been laid out by the hopeful association on nations, but the Burmese junta has since seemed in no rush to implement any measures to work toward the…
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Trial of deposed Burmese leader Suu Kyi to overrun as prosecution need more time
The trial of former Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is set to overrun as the prosecution says it needs more time. There are still around 23 witnesses waiting to be called by the prosecution and Suu Kyi’s lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, has confirmed the trial will go on longer than anticipated. Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest and…
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Trial begins in Myanmar for former leader Aung San Suu Kyi
Trials are now underway for Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate, a beacon for democracy in Myanmar, and the ousted Burmese leader that has been held prisoner by the military junta for 4 months after their coup on February 1. The former leader of Myanmar is on trial for sedition and a number of lesser and archaic law violations.…
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Burmese junta tells Doctors Without Borders to stop aid in Dawei
Thousands of lives have been placed in peril after the Burmese military junta currently controlling Myanmar commanded Doctors Without Borders to cease operation. The well-known medical charity famous for providing emergency healthcare worldwide regardless of geopolitical borders warns of the urgent danger of stopping care on thousands of HIV and tuberculosis patients. Yesterday the junta order that all medical charity…
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Burmese junta hit with additional US sanctions
The US has confirmed additional sanctions against Myanmar in response to the February 1 military coup that ousted the democratically-elected civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. CNN reports that the latest round of sanctions, which have been introduced in coordination with the UK and Canada, are aimed at the State Administrative Council, or military junta. In particular, they target…
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Burmese rebel group claim to have downed military helicopter – VIDEO
Al Jazeera is reporting that a Burmese rebel group is claiming to have downed a military helicopter in Kachin province. The Kachin Independence Army says it shot down the aircraft in response to military air strikes in the province. Myanmar has been rocked by violence and political unrest since a February 1 military coup that deposed of the democratically-elected government…
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UN Security Council issues watered-down Myanmar statement
The UN Security Council has issued 4 statements regarding the military coup in Myanmar and the resulting humanitarian crisis, including a new one yesterday. The statements call for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, but the wording was reportedly heavily watered down in order to achieve approval from Russia and China. The UK drew up the original Security Council…
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ASEAN nations agree to appoint envoy to broker cross-party talks in Myanmar
Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed to appoint an envoy to act as mediator in cross-party talks in Myanmar. The country has been rocked by months of violence following a February 1 military coup in which the democratically-elected government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted. The leader of the coup, Min Aung…
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Summit: Burmese military open to ASEAN delegation visits
Today’s ASEAN summit in Jakarta has yielded progress regarding the situation in Myanmar with Burmese junta leader Min Aung Hlaing stating he’s not opposed to a special envoy being created and dispatched to Myanmar. The military leader also said he would consider several other steps proposed by the leaders of the Asian nations. With leaders or representation from most countries…
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Myanmar summit Saturday tests ASEAN’s effectiveness
Leaders from the 10 countries of ASEAN will meet Saturday at a summit to discuss the crisis in Myanmar in what many see as a credibility test for the organisation. As the military junta in Myanmar have ramped up violence and lethal force against pro-democracy protestors, the country is descending into what the UN high commissioner for human rights referred…
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Fears grow in Myanmar as military junta orders internet shutdown
Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar are desperately trying to find alternative communication channels as the country’s internet blackout worsens. On Thursday, the military ordered internet providers to cut off wireless broadband access, despite businesses in the country calling for a halt to the ongoing disruption to service. Internet provider Ooredoo texted customers to inform them that the Burmese military has issued…
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“Inside job” allegations as Yangon malls linked to Burmese military burn down
2 Yangon department stores with links to the Burmese military have been burnt down overnight, with some saying it was an inside job. The Ruby Mart, in Kyauktadar Township, and The Gandamar Wholesale Center in Mayangone Township, are both affiliated with the military junta, and some suspect the fires were started with the intention of blaming pro-democracy protesters. Thai PBS…
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Government has repatriation plan for Thai citizens if Burmese situation deteriorates
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has formulated a plan to evacuate Thai citizens from Myanmar should the situation deteriorate further. Spokesman Tanee Sangrat says the Thai Embassy in Yangon has confirmed that protests against the ruling junta are ongoing, but deliveries of food have not been affected. According to a report in the Bangkok Post, Tanee says the…
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2,000 Burmese refugees sheltering in Mae Hong Son, northern Thailand
The governor of the northern province of Mae Hong Son says around 2,000 Karen refugees are sheltering in the province as the bloody conflict in Myanmar continues. Sithichai Jindaluang says local officials have provided shelter and other necessities to refugees in the districts of Mae Sariang and Khun Yuam. Violence in Myanmar has escalated since the military coup of February…
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Thai government denies Burmese refugees are being pushed back over the border
The Thai government has denied media reports that Burmese refugees fleeing the conflict in Myanmar are being pushed back over the border. Tanee Sangrat from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs insists that news reports claiming some Karen villagers who arrived in Thailand had been forced to return to Myanmar are false. “Those reports cite information solely from non-official sources without…
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Thai government says no need to evacuate citizens from Myanmar for now
Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the deteriorating situation in Myanmar is not serious enough to require the evacuation of Thai citizens. Thani Saengrat from the MFA says the situation is being assessed on a daily basis and the ministry is working with the Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon to prepare an evacuation plan should such a step become necessary.…
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Thousands of displaced Burmese flee to Thailand following military air strikes
As the situation escalates in Myanmar, and fears grow that civil war is about to break out, around 3,000 displaced Burmese villagers have fled to Thailand. The Bangkok Post reports that on Saturday, the Burmese army launched an air offensive on a village controlled by an armed ethnic group. The village in the southeastern Karen state is close to the…
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Burmese healthcare workers take to the streets to protest military coup
Healthcare workers in Myanmar staged a dawn rally yesterday, in protest at the February 1 military coup that deposed the government of civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The group of doctors and nurses took to the streets just before dawn, in a bid to avoid a clash with security forces. The protest action follows another weekend of military crackdowns…