Ex-UN head Ban Ki-moon urges army to end Myanmar violence
Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Myanmarโs ruling military to take the initiative in finding a way out of the countryโs violent political crisis after a surprise meeting with the army leader who seized power two years ago.
Myanmar junta dissolves Suu Kyi's party, much of opposition
Myanmarโs military governmenttook another major step in its ongoing attempts to cripple its political opponents on Wednesday , dissolving dozens of opposition parties including that of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to meet a registration deadline ahead of elections.
UN envoy tells Myanmar general: End violence, seek democracy
The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, has met with the head of its military-installed government and urged him to halt all violence and support a political path back to civilian rule and democracy, Heyzer also called on Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to allow the countryโs imprisoned former leader Aung San Suu Kyi to return home and to meet with her.
Cambodia defends leader's trip to Myanmar as 'positive step'
Cambodiaโs foreign minister has defended Prime Minister Hun Senโs trip to Myanmar, the first by a foreign leader since the military takeover plunged the country into turmoil, though there was little evidence the mission yielded any immediate breakthrough.
Richardson adds to diplomatic wins with journalist's release
Bill Richardsonโs success in helping secure the release of journalist Danny Fenster from a Myanmar prison is the latest demonstration of the former New Mexico governorโs knack for flying into some the most closed societies on earth and persuading those in charge to do Washington a favor.
Brunei says Myanmar still 'integral' to ASEAN despite rebuke
The sultan of Brunei says Myanmar remains an integral part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the bloc hopes its military government will work with an ASEAN envoy to defuse the political crisis triggered by its seizure of power in February.
Myanmar military extends emergency, promises vote in 2 years
Six months after seizing power from the elected government, Myanmarโs military leader has declared himself prime minister and said he would lead the country under the extended state of emergency until elections are held in about two years.
ASEAN envoys meet Myanmar junta leader to press for dialogue
Representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have met with Myanmarโs junta leader six weeks after an emergency regional summit on the coup in the country drew promises of progress toward a solution but produced no tangible results.
Election watchdog says no credible proof of Myanmar fraud
An independent election monitoring organization says the results of last Novemberโs voting in Myanmar were representative of the will of the people, rejecting the militaryโs allegations of massive fraud that served as its reason for seizing power.
Myanmar protests continue after ASEAN peace initiative
Protesters in Myanmarโs largest city have braved potential violence by security forces to demonstrate against Februaryโs military coup, showing their resolve to continue their resistance two days after Southeast Asian leaders met to address the countryโs crisis.
Protest in Yangon ahead of regional summit on Myanmar crisis
Protesters against Myanmarโs military coup have returned to the streets of downtown Yangon, defiantly chanting their opposition to the armyโs seizure of power as the junta chief prepared to attend a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders on the countryโs crisis.
Myanmar junta pardons prisoners, to attend regional summit
Myanmarโs junta has released more than 23,000 prisoners to mark the traditional new year holiday, including at least three political detainees, and the military leader behind the February coup confirmed he would attend a regional summit later this month.
Myanmar forces kill scores in deadliest day since coup
Anti-coup protesters prepare makeshift bow and arrows to confront police in Thaketa township Yangon, Myanmar, Saturday, March 27, 2021. (AP Photo)YANGON โ As Myanmarโs military celebrated the annual Armed Forces Day holiday with a parade Saturday in the country's capital, soldiers and police elsewhere killed scores of people while suppressing protests in the deadliest bloodletting since last month's coup. โWe urge the Myanmar Armed Forces to cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions.โAdThe European Unionโs delegation to Myanmar said that the 76th Myanmar Armed Forces Day โwill stay engraved as a day of terror and dishonor.โโThe killing of unarmed civilians, including children, are indefensible acts,โ it added. Junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing did not directly refer to the protest movement when he gave his nationally televised Armed Forces Day speech before thousands of soldiers in Naypyitaw. In contrast, security forces have used live ammunition for weeks against what have still been overwhelmingly unarmed and peaceful crowds.
Myanmar junta defends crackdown, accuses Suu Kyi of graft
Opposition against the Feb 1 military coup continues in Myanmar. The civil disobedience movement has used widespread boycotts, strikes and other actions to demand that power be returned to the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The allegations against Suu Kyi made by former Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein were first mentioned by the military several weeks ago. Last week the military-controlled Myawaddy TV station aired a similar video with a construction magnate who also claimed to have made large payoffs to Suu Kyi. The junta repeated its claims that civil servants, teachers and doctors joined the CDM under threat.
Deadly violence resumes in Myanmar after peaceful protests
(AP Photo)YANGON โ At least two people protesting last month's military coup were reported shot and killed by Myanmar security forces Tuesday after a morning of peaceful marches. Mobile data service had been used to stream live video coverage of protests, often showing security forces attacking demonstrators. So, security forces had to handle the situation very hard,โ according to the account. Meanwhile, the shooting had to disperse the protesters, resulting in some security forces and protestersโ casualties.โVirtually all independent accounts blame security forces for initiating violence against unarmed protesters. โIn Burma, the military is attempting to overturn the results of a democratic election and is brutally repressing peaceful protests."
Myanmar junta kills more protesters, adds Suu Kyi accusation
Security forces have attacked previous protests with live ammunition as well, leading to the deaths of at least 60 people. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously called for reversing the coup and strongly condemned the violence against peaceful protesters. Reports from Kachin, the northernmost state, said guerrilla forces from the Kachin ethnic minority attacked a government base on Thursday and were in turn attacked. The reports could not be independently confirmed, and ethnic guerrilla armies as well as the government often release exaggerated information. Myanmar has more than a dozen ethnic guerrilla armies, mostly in border areas, a legacy of decades-old struggles for greater autonomy from the central government.
US expands sanctions to family of Myanmar's coup leader
(AP Photo)The United States announced sanctions Wednesday on two family members of Myanmarโs commander in chief, beefing up U.S. financial penalties in response to the militaryโs five-week-old coup and its deadly ongoing crackdown on protesters. The Feb. 1 coup reversed years of internationally supported progress toward democracy in Myanmar after five decades of military rule and international isolation. The military staged the coup the same day newly elected lawmakers were due to take office. Wednesday's were the latest in a series of penalties imposed by the U.S. over the military takeover, including new export restrictions announced earlier this month. The United States already had many of Myanmarโs military leaders under sanctions for mass killings of the countryโs Rohingya Muslim minority in recent years.
Protesters adapt tactics after Myanmar police use violence
Anti-coup protesters hold makeshift shields during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar Tuesday, March 9, 2021. The death of Zaw Myat Lin in custody was the second in recent days. Zaw Myat Lin was arrested Monday night as he tried to escape from a police raid, the Voice of Myanmar online news service and other media reported. Maung Saungkha, an activist and friend of Zaw Myat Lin, said his family was summoned to retrieve his body on Tuesday and was not told how he died. It announced that the licenses of five local media outlets โ Mizzima, DVB, Khit Thit Media, Myanmar Now and 7Day News โ had been canceled.
UN envoy: Myanmar army is 'surprised' at opposition to coup
FILE - In this June 15, 2018, file photo, United Nations Secretary General's Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener arrives to meet Myanmar's Legal Affairs and Special Cases Assessment Commission Shwe Mann, at the Parliament Building in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Schraner Burgener said she receives about 2,000 messages a day from people in Myanmar, many desperate to see an international response. It aims for a national cease-fire agreement with all 21 ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, which Schraner Burgener said is going to be difficult as 10 have already taken a strong stand against the coup. She said the army is surprised by the opposition, which has been led by young people. โI always felt she was on a tightrope dealing with the army,โ Schraner Burgener said of Suu Kyi.
Pro-military marchers in Myanmar attack anti-coup protesters
Photos and videos posted on social media showed groups attacking people in downtown Yangon as police stood by without intervening. According to accounts and photos posted on social media, hundreds of people marched Thursday in support of the coup. AdMarsudi's efforts echo those of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has urged Myanmarโs military to make some concessions to help ease tensions. Several countries have levied or are considering new sanctions against the military junta, and on Thursday, Facebook announced it, too, was taking action. The junta has tried to block Facebook and other social media platforms, but its efforts have proven ineffective.
New charge filed on Suu Kyi as Myanmar crackdown intensifies
Buddhist monks and nuns display pictures of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo)YANGON โ Police in Myanmar filed a new charge against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said Tuesday, as the military authorities who seized power in a coup intensified their crackdown against their opponents. Suu Kyi, who was detained in the Feb. 1 military takeover, already faced a charge of illegally possessing walkie-talkies โ an apparent attempt to provide a legal veneer for her house arrest. Suu Kyiโs lawyer told reporters he has not seen her since her arrest โ and only arrived after an unexpected videoconference the judge said had been held with her. AdAround 3,000 demonstrators โ mainly students โ had returned to the streets of Mandalay, carrying posters of Suu Kyi and shouting for the return of democracy.
Myanmar security forces intensify crackdown on protesters
A man is held by police during a crackdown on anti-coup protesters holding a rally in front of the Myanmar Economic Bank in Mandalay, Myanmar on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. Security forces in Myanmar intensified their crackdown against anti-coup protesters on Monday, seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power earlier this month to reinstate the elected government. (AP Photo)YANGON โ Security forces in Myanmar pointed guns toward anti-coup protesters and attacked them with sticks Monday, seeking to quell the large-scale demonstrations calling for the military junta that seized power this month to reinstate the elected government. It circulated widely on social media, as did a notice said to be from service provider Oredoo Myanmar containing the same details. โShe has conveyed to the Myanmar military that the world is watching closely, and any form of heavy-handed response is likely to have severe consequences,โ Haq said.
Myanmar rattled by army movements, apparent internet cutoff
In this image made from video by the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), two armored personnel carriers were seen traversing on a road in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. "We support the people of Myanmar in their quest for democracy, freedom, peace, and prosperity,โ they said in a joint statement issued late Sunday night. It circulated widely on social media, as did a notice said to be from service provider Oredoo Myanmar containing the same details. People have also been rattled by police raids carried out during curfew hours to seize individuals seen as opposed to the coup. The independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says 400 people have been detained since the coup, with 375 still being held.
Myanmar protests in 2nd week, with neither side backing down
Mass street demonstrations in Myanmar have entered their second week with neither protesters nor the military government they seek to unseat showing any signs of backing off from confrontations. (AP Photos)YANGON โ Mass street demonstrations in Myanmar entered their second week Saturday, with neither protesters nor the military government they seek to unseat showing any signs of backing down from confrontations. The military ousted the countryโs leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her government and prevented recently elected lawmakers from opening a new session of Parliament. Suu Kyi and other senior members of her government and party remain in detention. Saturdayโs protests coincided with the birthday of Gen. Aung San, the countryโs independence leader and father of Suu Kyi.
Myanmar coup leader: 'Join hands' with army for democracy
Demonstrators in traditional dance costumes display an upside-down begging-bowl, a form of protest symbolizing the refusal of charity from the military government, during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay, Myanmar on Friday, Feb. 12, 2021. Thousands of protesters, including Myanmar celebrities, demonstrated outside the Chinese Embassy in Yangon on Friday to criticize what they said was Beijing's failure to condemn the coup. AdMany of the protesters were students from local international schools and universities, and they held signs that read โWe donโt want dictatorship,โ โStop helping the military coupโ and โFree our leader." AdThe move will prevent the generals from accessing more than $1 billion in Myanmar government funds held in the United States. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact the U.S. action will have on Myanmarโs military regime.
Ethnic minorities protest Myanmar coup, as opposition grows
Ethnic Entha fishermen display placards during a protest against the military coup on Inle Lake, Taunggyi, Myanmar Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Aung Ko San)YANGON โ Members of Myanmarโs ethnic minorities marched through streets in traditional dress and floated on wooden long boats in a scenic lake Thursday to protest last weekโs coup, a sign of the broad and growing resistance to the military takeover. This is not Zoom meeting.โMin Aung Hlaing indirectly acknowledged the widespread opposition to his government in a televised speech Thursday. The junta leader also touched on the issue of civil servants joining the protests. It remains to be seen what, if any, impact the U.S. action will have on Myanmarโs military regime.
Myanmar protesters back on streets despite police violence
Protesters continued to gather Wednesdayin Mandalay breaching Myanmar's new military rulers' decrees that effectively banned peaceful public protests in the country's two biggest cities. Witnesses estimated that tens of thousands of protesters, if not more, turned out in Yangon and Mandalay, the countryโs biggest cities. The protesters are demanding that power be restored to Suu Kyiโs deposed civilian government. Others marched through the city, chanting and waving flags of Suu Kyiโs party. In Naypyitaw and Mandalay on Tuesday, police sprayed water cannons and fired warning shots to try to clear away protesters.
Myanmar junta cracks down on crowds defying protest ban
Police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest in Mandalay, Myanmar, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. Police were cracking down on the demonstrators against Myanmars military takeover who took to the streets in defiance of new protest bans. โThe use of disproportionate force against demonstrators is unacceptable,โ said Ola Almgren, the U.N. resident coordinator in Myanmar. AdPolice also used water cannons in the capital, Natpyitaw, for a second day and fired shots into the air. The military used deadly force to quash a massive 1988 uprising against military dictatorship and a 2007 revolt led by Buddhist monks.
Myanmar junta imposes curfew, meeting bans as protests swell
Protesters are sprayed with water fired from a police truck's water cannon in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. They say they were issued in response to people carrying out unlawful actions that harm the rule of law, a reference to the protests. AdState media for the first time on Monday made reference to the protests, claiming they were endangering the countryโs stability. AdThe growing protests recall previous movements in the Southeast Asian countryโs long and bloody struggle for democracy. Aside from a few officers, soldiers have not been in the streets at protests this past week.
Resistance to coup grows despite Myanmar's block of Facebook
People clap to make noise as they participate in a civil disobedience action to protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2021. (AP Photo)YANGON โ Myanmarโs new military government blocked access to Facebook as resistance to Monday's coup surged amid calls for civil disobedience to protest the ousting of the elected government and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The military seized power shortly before a new session of Parliament was to convene on Monday and detained Suu Kyi and other top politicians. AdBut Suu Kyi, the daughter of an independence hero and a pro-democracy activist for more than three decades, remains the country's most popular politician. AdIn 2018, Facebook removed several accounts linked to Myanmarโs military, including that of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the new government's leader, because their content appeared to fuel hatred toward the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Myanmar charges Suu Kyi, giving legal basis to detain her
In the early hours of Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, the Myanmar army took over the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup over allegations of fraud in November's elections. The military announced Monday that it would take power for one year โ accusing Suu Kyi's government of not investigating allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. Suu Kyi's party swept that vote, and the military-backed party did poorly. National League for Democracy spokesman Kyi Toe confirmed the charge against Suu Kyi that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Ad___This story has been updated to correct that the charge against Suu Kyi carries a maximum sentence of three years, not two.
People in Myanmar honk horns, bang on pots to protest coup
Shouts could be heard wishing detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi good health and calling for freedom. A senior politician and close confidante of Suu Kyi also urged citizens to defy the military through civil disobedience. AdโThe curse of the coup is rooted in our country, and this is the reason why our country still remains poor. He said Suu Kyi was in good health at a separate location where she was being held and would stay there for the time being. Suu Kyi had been a fierce critic of the army during her years in detention.
A decade after junta's end, Myanmar military back in control
Myanmar military television said Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the countrys senior politicians including Suu Kyi had been detained. Immediately after he was named president, Myint Swe handed power to the countryโs top military commander, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Min Aung Hliang, 64, has been commander of the armed forces since 2011 and is due to retire soon. AdIn 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department froze Min Aung Hliang's U.S.-based assets and banned doing business with him and three other Myanmar military leaders. Soon afterward, Myint Swe assumed command of the former military regimeโs sprawling military intelligence apparatus.
EXPLAINER: Why is the military taking control in Myanmar?
Myanmar military television said Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the countrys senior politicians including Suu Kyi had been detained. โThereโs internal military politics around that, which is very opaque,โ said Kim Jolliffe, a researcher on Myanmar civilian and military relations. AdMyanmar's military leaders โmust immediately free the democratic leaders of Myanmar and remove themselves from government,โ said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. โIf not, the United States and other countries should impose strict economic sanctions, as well as other measuresโ against the military and military leaders, he said. He also questioned Suu Kyi's ability to lead given her defense of the military's actions against ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
The Latest: UN Security Council to meet about Myanmar coup
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel joined the criticism after Myanmar military television said the military was taking control of the country for one year. ___4:17 p.m.Italy strongly condemned the military takeover in Myanmar and demanded that Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders be released. Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: โI condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar. ___11:10 a.m.Human rights groups are calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders in Myanmar. ___7:15 a.m.Reports says a military coup has taken place in Myanmar and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest.
Myanmar's military takes power in coup, detains Suu Kyi
FILE - In this May 6, 2016, file photo, Aung San Suu Kyi, left, Myanmar's foreign minister, walks with senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right, Myanmar military's commander-in-chief, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. While Suu Kyi had been a fierce antagonist of the army while under house arrest, since her release and return to politics, she has had to work with the country's generals, who never fully gave up power. The first signs that the military was planning to seize power were reports that Suu Kyi and Win Myint, the countryโs president, had been detained before dawn. By midday, people were removing the bright red flags of Suu Kyiโs party that once adorned their homes and businesses. AdIn November polls, Suu Kyi's party captured 396 out of 476 seats up for actual election in the lower and upper houses of Parliament.
Myanmar military denies coup threats over vote fraud claims
A cyclist bikes past a signboard with an image of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Yangon, Myanmar Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)NAYPYITAW โ Myanmarโs military on Saturday denied its chief was threatening to stage a coup over complaints of election fraud, saying the media had misinterpreted his words. The military has publicly complained several times of electoral fraud and called on the government and the Union Election Commission to review the results. The military ran Myanmar for some 50 years before beginning a transitioning to democracy in 2010. Ad___Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw in Yangon, Myanmar, contributed to this report.
Myanmar election commission rejects militaryโs fraud claims
Myanmar's election commission rejected allegations by the military that fraud played a significant role in determining the outcome of November's elections, which delivered a landslide victory to Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)NAYPYITAW โ Myanmarโs election commission rejected allegations by the military that fraud played a significant role in determining the outcome of Novemberโs elections, which delivered a landslide victory to Aung San Suu Kyiโs ruling party. The military has been calling on the government and the Union Election Commission to review the results. It says it has found 8.6 million irregularities in voter lists in 314 townships that could have let voters cast multiple ballots or commit other "voting malpractice,โ but the election commission said there was no evidence to support these claims. The party of Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace prize laureate, won the previous elections in 2015 also in a landslide.
Amnesty Report: Businesses supporting Myanmar abuses
Some of MEHL's domestic and foreign partners, including Kirin, have said they are investigating the concerns raised by the report. The Amnesty report, compiled in collaboration with the human rights group Justice for Myanmar, outlines links between key military units and leaders involved in what Myanmar's military has called a clearance campaign in the northwestern Rakhine. It was home to more than 700,000 Rohingya who have fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries since August 2017. Another of the documents presented in the report shows top military leaders holding key executive posts in MEHL. Both it and Myanma Economic Cooperation, another big military-linked company, act as unofficial gatekeepers," for business dealings in Myanmar, the report says.
UK sanctions Russians, Saudis under new Magnitsky powers
LONDON Britain on Monday announced economic sanctions against individuals and organizations from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and North Korea under new U.K. powers to punish human rights offenders. Britain has previously imposed sanctions as part of the European Union or under the auspices of the United Nations. Since leaving the EU in January, it has implemented its own version of the United States Magnitsky Act, which allows authorities to ban or seize assets of individuals guilty of human rights abuses. The U.K. law authorizes the British government to prevent sanctioned individuals from entering the country, channeling money through British banks, or profiting from the U.K. economy. Conservative lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, who heads the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee, said there had been a remarkable silence on human rights violations in China."