MYANMAR’S deposed civilian leadership have called for revolution to unseat the military junta which grabbed power on February 1 to annul November election results and stopped the country’s transition to democracy. Media report say over 149 people have so far been killed in military crackdown. The figure is reportedly more than 180 including 74 killed on Sunday alone. Several hundred are missing. Myanmar people are fighting the military in bloody protests and we support their struggle because we want a democratic government across the border.
The Myanmar military was controlling the country since 1962 after it won independence from Britain in 1948. They took over in an ethnically diverse nation and people never had the taste of democratic rule over long 50 years. The situation reversed in 2011 when the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in election to force the army to agree to a power sharing arrangement. But it seems they were not happy and were looking for a takeover again.
The people of Myanmar this time appear to be democratically organised and the younger generation is not easily willing to give in without a fight back. The call for revolution has already united the nation while a civil disobedience has left the country paralysed.
World leaders including UN Secretary General, US Secretary of State have denounced the spate of killings and called for immediate talks to end military rule as the death tolls continue spiraling. Only China and Russia are supporting the military while India has indicated it would oppose any sanction on Myanmar military. These powers also shamelessly shielded Myanmar military during the Rohingya crisis.
We recall that the Myanmar public applauded Rohingya genocide and their expulsion by the military from their ancestral homes without raising a voice. They are facing the same brutality today from their military rulers.
The world must find a way to stop denying people of their ownership of the state and butchering them with their gun power. This ideology that power comes through the barrel of guns must be fought and defeated if respect for democracy has to be established. The USA and Western democracy are forgetting people’s interests and selling weapons to these countries. The root cause of brutality perpetrated with gun power is hunger for power.
