Women carry pots of flowers as they participate in a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, April 13, 2021. REUTERS / Stringer
Opponents of Myanmar’s junta announced a national unity government on Friday, including deposed MPs and leaders of anti-coup and ethnic minority protests, who said their goal was to end military rule and democracy to recover.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the Feb. 1 coup that ousted a civilian government led by Democratic champion Aung San Suu Kyi, who was in power for five years and entered its second term after a landslide election victory in November.
According to a control group, people have taken to the streets day after day to demand the restoration of democracy, defying the crackdown by the security forces, in which more than 700 people died.
At the same time, political leaders, including deposed MPs from Suu Kyi’s party, have tried to organize to show the country and the outside world that they, not the generals, are the legitimate political authority.
“Welcome the people’s government,” veteran democracy activist Min Ko Naing said in a 10-minute video speech announcing the formation of the government of national unity.
Although Min Ko Naing outlined some views, he said that the will of the people was the priority of the unity government, while acknowledging the magnitude of the task at hand.
“We’re trying to get this from the roots, so we have to sacrifice a lot,” he said, referring to the junta.
A junta spokesperson was not available for comment.
The generals justified their takeover with allegations of fraud in the November election won by Suu Kyi, although the election commission rejected the objections.
One of the main goals of the unit government is to gain international support and recognition.
The minister of international cooperation, Dr. Sasa, told reporters that the United States and Britain had recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate leader.
“We are Myanmar’s democratically elected leaders,” said Sasa, who has only one name. “So if the free and democratic world rejects us, it means they reject democracy.”
International pressure on Myanmar’s military has also increased, particularly from Western governments that have imposed limited sanctions, although the generals have long rejected what they perceive as outside interference. read more
The unity government has released a list of office holders, including members of ethnic minorities and protest leaders, underscoring the unity of purpose between the pro-democracy movement and autonomous minority communities, some of whom have been fighting the central government for decades.
Suu Kyi, who has been in custody since the coup, was listed as a state adviser, the position she held in the government.
The only known communication she has had with the outside world since the coup has been overheard by video conversations with her lawyers. A spokesman for the Democratic politicians said that while they couldn’t inform her about the unity government, he was sure she was aware of what was going on.
‘SILENT STRIKE’
Sasa told Reuters the goal was to end violence, restore democracy and build a “federal democratic union”. The military is paying lip service to the idea of federalism, but has long seen itself as the main force that keeps the country together.
Unit government leaders said they intended to form a federal army and were in talks with ethnic minority troops.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar, a group of international experts, including former UN officials, called the creation of the NUG as historic, saying it was the legitimate government.
As the politicians announced the unity government, other opponents of the military regime observed a “silent attack” that stayed at home to mourn the dead or dressed in black in small marches in half a dozen cities and towns, the media reported.
The streets in the capital, Yangon, were mostly deserted, residents said.
There were no immediate reports of violence in Friday’s protests, but six people were killed in a shootout between soldiers and a “local group” in the central city of Kani the day before, the Myanmar Now media agency reported.
The military has also rallied critics. Two prominent protest organizers were arrested on Thursday.
The unrest and the prospect of growing conflict have alarmed Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia, who have sought to encourage talks between the rival parties.
Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar, will meet in Indonesia on April 24 to discuss the situation, Thai and Indonesian media reported.
Junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing would be in attendance, a Thai broadcaster said, but the Jakarta Post said it had not been confirmed whether the top would include representatives from the junta or the former government.
Sasa said ASEAN should not invite “main killer” Min Aung Hlaing.
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