YANGON, Myanmar (AP) Opponents of Myanmar’s military government late Wednesday posed a major political challenge to the ruling junta, declaring the countr
Yangon, Myanmar
A group of opponents of Myanmar’s military government declared the country’s 2008 constitution void and put forward an interim replacement charter late Wednesday in a major political challenge to the ruling junta.
The actions were taken by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), an underground, self-styled alternative government established by elected lawmakers who were not allowed to take their seats when the military staged the coup in February and ousted and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The CRPH, which represents the National Parliament, made the announcements on social media.
The moves, while more symbolic than practical, could help woo the armed ethnic militias in the countryside to ally themselves with the mass protest movement against the military’s seizure of power in February.
What’s new? The 1 February coup has plunged Myanmar into political, social and economic turmoil. Mass protests, public- and private-sector worker strikes, and the security forces’ brutal violence against the population, including the killing of at least 158 unarmed civilians on 27 March, are pushing the country toward collapse.
Why does it matter? Neither the military regime nor the popular uprising is likely to prevail soon. Nor is either likely to back down. The crisis is set to deepen, with the prospects of greater bloodshed, economic damage, humanitarian emergency and refugee flight to neighbouring countries growing in coming months.
What should be done? Getting the regime to change course will be an uphill struggle. Still, foreign actors should not recognise the junta; they should impose arms embargoes and targeted sanctions on the military and its interests. Asian and Western powers should continue working together. Donors should plan for significant humanitarian an
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