The dumping of bodies is indubitably an outrage of a Buddhist shrine, if ever there was one. “It is like a genocide. They are shooting at every shadow,” was the lament of an organiser of the protest against the gross injustice meted out to Aung San Suu Kyi post her election victory yet again.
The coup may have been driven by the military's goal to preserve its central role in Burmese politics. The Defence Services Act imposes a mandatory retirement age of 65 for the Armed Forces' Commander-in-Chief. Min Aung Hlaing, the incumbent, would have been forced to retire on his 65th birthday in July 2021
Indeed, there are worries about a coup in the context of the GHQ’s threat to “take action” against the alleged fraud in the election won by the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The state power will now be handed over to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing, according to a declaration signed by First Vice President U Myint Swe, who is currently serving as the Acting President.
