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View all search resultsBeijing’s hand behind Myanmar military coup?
Yet part of Myanmar’s original sin, and this includes the once sainted Suu Kyi, has been to run a hypernationalist Buddhist state at the expense of the country’s other ethnic and religious groups; Christians and Muslims.
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M
yanmar’s military coup d’etat overthrowing the democratically elected government has provided the stage for a new morality play in Southeast Asia. We already know the players.
On the one side we see the seemingly virtuous young democracy led by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate being pushed aside by the powerful and corrupt Burmese military. Then there’s the International community, Britain, the United States and the European Union who quickly condemn the coup makers and demand a return to democracy. Additionally, the neighboring Southeast Asian nations, notably Thailand (with its own military junta), who basically shrug.
But the crescendo quickly builds when the United Nations Security Council with the United Kingdom at the helm, tries to mobilize a powerful condemnation of the military power grab, only to find that key veto holding members, especially China and Russia, provide diplomatic cover for Burma’s aka Myanmar’s military. Surprised?
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemns the military coup calling it “totally unacceptable.”
Christine Schraner Burgener, the UN special envoy for Myanmar, addresses ambassadors,
“I strongly condemn the recent steps taken by the military and urge all of you to collectively send a clear signal in support of democracy in Myanmar.”
So all the players have assumed their traditional places; the West most especially Britain, the former colonial power, and the US in defending democracy and threatening sanctions. The People’s Republic of China, the regime’s longtime patron, protecting its client state, and the long suffering Myanmar people, on the losing end once again.
