Myanmar’s military has seized power in a coup against the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and other democratically elected leaders on Monday – a day when lawmakers were scheduled to meet for the first time since the election in November 2020.
The coup in the South-East Asian nation has drawn stern condemnation from the Burmese diaspora in Australia.
Melbourne resident SawWin Maung, who has lived under the military rule in Myanmar, says the move is “absolutely brainless and crazy”.
"We are all in shock, angry and disappointed. We strongly condemn this military action,” he told SBS Burmese.
“We request the Australian government to help the Myanmar people. We need your urgent action to protect the people of Myanmar.”
The military has been alleging irregularities in the November election in which Ms Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy recorded a landslide victory.
Melbuorne resident SawWin Maung says the Burmese community is shocked, angry and disappointed at the developments in Myanmar. Source: SawWin Maung
The political uncertainty from the military's action has caused panic among many residents.
"When we woke up this morning, there was nothing at all on any of the TV channels. We, later on, found out about the news that the leaders have been arrested. So we rushed to buy rice, salt and oil," Lin Lin, a Yangon resident, told SBS Karen.
Burmese Australian Kyaw Lun Tin, a resident of Melbourne, says people may or may not like Ms Suu Kyi, but no one wants to live under a military dictatorship.
Myanmar's Army Commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing. Source: AAP
“In politics, there are those who like Aung San Suu Kyi and those who do not like her and her party. But we do not like military government,” he says. “I don’t want to see peace being disturbed and bloodshed in the country.”
The country became a British colony after its administration was taken over by the British East India Company in the 19th century. Myanmar came under Japanese occupation briefly before gaining independence in 1948. The military seized power from the country's civilian government for the first time in 1962.
Sydney-based Burmese activist, Dr Myint Cho who was a medical student during Burma's first military rule says he witnessed and experienced various human rights abuses.
"Like other Burmese student activists and political dissidents, I was also arbitrarily arrested and tortured in a notorious interrogation centre in 1987 for my political conscience. Ethnic minority peoples including Karens were also targets of the military regime," he says.
Dr Cho says later his medical licence was revoked, his property confiscated and an arrest warrant was issued against him, forcing him to flee to the Thai-Burma border where he became a member of the armed resistance movement for 12 years.
He is calling for an immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders.
Dr Myint Cho says Australia should take firm action against the Myanmar military. Source: Myint Cho
"We strongly call on the Burmese generals to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all detained political figures immediately and unconditionally and to honour the 2020 election results and respect the will of the people who have expressed in the elections."
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement that the Australian Government is “deeply concerned” at the developments in Myanmar.
“Australia is a long-standing supporter of Myanmar and its democratic transition. We call on the military to respect the rule of law, to resolve disputes through lawful mechanisms and to release immediately all civilian leaders and others who have been detained unlawfully.
We strongly support the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly, consistent with the results of the November 2020 general election.
But Dr Myint Cho, a political activist and analyst, says Australia should take firm action against the Myanmar generals who have staged the coup and secure the release of Ms Suu Kyi and other political leaders.
“We call on the Australian Government to impose economic sanctions on the generals and their associates. We call on the Australian Government to closely work with the US, EU, ASEAN and other like-minded governments to take effective measures against the military.”
