'We Have Got to Act Now': As GOP Introduces Weak Relief Bill, Sanders Says Dems Already Have Enough Votes to Pass Stronger Package

"We made promises to the American people. We're going to keep those promises."

by

Kenny Stancil, staff writer

 Published on Sunday, January 31, 2021

by

Common Dreams

"The question is not bipartisanship," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Sunday, January 31, 2021. "The question is addressing the unprecedented crises that we face right now." (Photo: Screengrab from ABC)

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont on Sunday told ABC host Martha Raddatz that there is a sufficient amount of support within the Democratic Party to pass President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package and warned that failing to immediately distribute aid to struggling households throughout the country would represent an unconscionable betrayal of the millions of voters who handed Democrats unified legislative and executive power with a directive to improve people's lives.

"The question is not bipartisanship. The question is addressing the unprecedented crises that we face right now."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

"We made promises to the American people," said Sanders. "We're going to keep those promises."

"Does your party have the votes to pass the relief package through the reconciliation process, if you decide to go that route?" asked Raddatz.

"I believe that we do," Sanders, an independent member of the Democratic caucus, replied. "It's hard for me to imagine any Democrat... who doesn't understand the need to go forward right now, in an aggressive way, to protect the working families of this country."

While acknowledging that Democratic lawmakers have "differences and concerns" about Biden's $1.9 trillion opening offer, Sanders stressed that "we're going to support the president of the United States, and we're going to... do what the American people overwhelmingly want us to do."

Although polling shows that the U.S. electorate overwhelmingly supports "an expansive government effort to combat Covid-19," Raddatz drew attention to tensions within the Democratic Party about moving forward unilaterally, if necessary.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.)—a right-wing lawmaker who last week reassured Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that he would never vote to end the filibuster, a "Jim Crow relic" that requires 60 votes to pass major legislation and thus facilitates anti-democratic rule—on Friday emphasized his desire to "find a bipartisan pathway forward."

Sanders—who is the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and has signaled his willingness to use the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process to circumvent GOP obstructionism—wasn't having it.

"Democrats have a majority [in the Senate] because of the fact that we won two seats with great candidates in Georgia," said Sanders. "That campaign in many ways was a national campaign."

Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won in Georgia and by extension, Democrats won nationwide, Sanders said, because the party pledged to deliver relief checks, extend unemployment benefits, and "address the needs of working families."

"If politics means anything, if you're going to have any degree of credibility," Sanders continued, "you can't campaign on a series of issues and then after the election when you get power say, 'Oh well, you know what, we're changing our mind.' That's not the way it works."

Sanders' call for the Democrats to quickly fulfill their mandate to reduce suffering by providing relief as soon as possible coincided with reports that 10 Republican senators on Sunday requested a meeting with Biden to discuss their $600 billion coronavirus relief package, which they have presented as an alternative to the president's plan.

According to The Washington Post, the senators, led by Susan Collins (R-Maine), characterized their proposal as a fulfillment of Biden's "calls for unity." The newspaper noted that the GOP is expected to propose sending even smaller relief checks to far fewer people—slashing direct payments to $1,000 and limiting eligibility to those with individual incomes under $50,000 per year.

The group of GOP lawmakers intends to share additional details on Monday, the same day "Democratic leaders in both chambers are tentatively planning to introduce a budget resolution," the Post reported.

As Common Dreams reported last week, leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in which they warned that "if we aim too low, the financial consequences will be catastrophic, long-lasting, and borne by the American families who can least afford it."

The CPC's letter came in response to reports that the Biden administration—after seeking input about coronavirus relief from ostensible deficit-hawks, including Collins who, even after supporting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, claims the president's existing plan for direct payments will benefit allegedly undeserving middle-class families—is considering splitting its package into two parts in an attempt to attract GOP support.

Excluding more households from relief through additional means-testing—an approach that billionaire-owned media outlets are trying to rationalize—would be "not just bad economics, but terrible politics," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) cautioned last week. Trying to "target" aid to the poorest individuals, Khanna said, would leave out millions of people with moderate incomes who are nonetheless struggling, breeding anti-government resentment in the process. "Have we learned nothing?" he asked.

Progressives, already frustrated that Biden is calling for $1,400 checks instead of the promised $2,000, have stressed that Democrats "do not have to negotiate against themselves, word-parse their way out of campaign pledges, and delude themselves into thinking that Republicans are good-faith legislative partners," as The Daily Poster's David Sirota put it last week.

Sirota on Sunday suggested that Republicans may be "deliberately trying" to prevent Democrats from following through on their pledge to deliver adequate relief "so that the GOP can then run ads against Dems for breaking the promise."

With Sanders insisting that there is already enough support within the party to enact Biden's $1.9 trillion proposal, it remains to be seen how corporate Democrats will respond—needlessly collaborate with GOP lawmakers in pursuit of a watered-down bipartisan deal that represents elite "unity" but fails to meet the scale of the crisis, or listen to the progressive wing of the party and pass a robust relief package without the support of congressional Republicans.

"We have got to act, and we have got to act now," Sanders said in his appearance on ABC.

Alluding to the $600 billion plan put forth by 10 Republican senators, Raddatz—who neglected to mention that the GOP previously spent months stonewalling relief—asked Sanders: "Is it a mistake for Democrats to consider abandoning bipartisan negotiations so soon?"

To which Sanders responded: "The issue is not bipartisanship, or not. The issue is are we going to address the incredible set of crises and the pain and the anxiety, which is in this country."

"We have families... who cannot feed their kids," the senator continued. "We have millions of people who face eviction. We are in the midst of the worst pandemic in 100 years."

"The question is not bipartisanship," Sanders added. "The question is addressing the unprecedented crises that we face right now."

Biden on Friday expressed a similar sentiment: "I support passing Covid relief with support from Republicans if we can get it. But the Covid relief has to pass, there's no ifs, ands, or buts."

Trump lawyers' Cosby, Epstein ties

Donald Trump waves as he boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House. Photo / AP

Americans are sharing their reaction to Donald Trump's shock appointment of lawyers with connections to Bill Cosby and Jeffrey Epstein.

Over the weekend, news broke that five experts from the 74-year-old's impeachment legal team stood down due to clashes over strategy.

Today, two replacements were announced – David Schoen and Bruce Castor Jnr.

But it didn't take long for focus to shift to the pair's previous, high-profile ties.

In 2005, Castor decided not to prosecute former TV star Bill Cosby for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand, and Schoen met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein days before his August 2019 death.

In the hours since the announcement was made, many Americans have taken to social media to point out those connections, and question their morals and track records.

US: Trump hires new lawyers to fight impeachment

Former president says David Schoen and Bruce Castor will now lead his defence against ‘incitement to insurrection’ charges.

The previous five-person legal team parted ways with the ex-president on Saturday days before his trial 

1 Feb 2021

Former US President Donald Trump hired two new lawyers to head his defence team for his historic second impeachment trial set to begin next week.

Trump’s announcement on Sunday follows reports he abruptly parted ways with several of his impeachment lawyers.

Lawyers David Schoen and Bruce Castor will head the defence effort in the trial set to begin in the US Senate on February 9, Trump’s office said in a statement. Schoen had already been helping Trump and advisers prepare for the proceedings, according to the former president’s office.

Both attorneys issued statements through Trump’s office saying they were honoured to take the job.

“The strength of our Constitution is about to be tested like never before in our history. It is strong and resilient. A document written for the ages, and it will triumph over partisanship yet again, and always,” said Castor.

Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two South Carolina lawyers, are no longer on Trump’s team,  sources familiar with the situation told news agencies on Saturday, describing their departure as a “mutual decision”.

‘Complex cases’

Castor has focused on criminal law throughout his career, while Schoen specialises in “civil rights litigation in Alabama and federal criminal defence work, including white collar and other complex cases, in New York”, the statement said.

Trump, who left office January 20, faces trial on a charge that he incited the mob that stormed the US Capitol building in an effort to block his election loss to President Joe Biden. He is due to file a response to the impeachment charges on Tuesday.

The trial is historic on two fronts, marking the first time a president has been impeached twice and the first time a former United States president has faced such a trial.

Schoen had already been working with the defence team, and he and Castor “agree that this impeachment is unconstitutional”, the statement said.

Schoen previously represented Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted in November 2019 of lying under oath to legislators investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump pardoned Stone in December 2020.

Castor is a former Pennsylvania district attorney known for his decision not to prosecute entertainer Bill Cosby in 2005 after a woman accused Cosby of sexual assault. In 2017, Castor sued Cosby’s accuser in the case for defamation, claiming she destroyed his political career in retaliation. Cosby, 83, is now serving a three-to-10-year sentence after being found guilty in a 2018 trial of drugging and raping a onetime friend at his home in 2004.

Trump has reportedly been struggling to form a defence ahead of his historic trial, facing new hurdles with just days to go.

But with only five Republicans joining all 50 Democrats this week in agreeing the trial should go forward, it appears unlikely that 17 Republicans would vote against Trump, the minimum number needed to reach the two-thirds threshold for conviction.

 

 

Military coup in Myanmar, army declares 

one year-long state of emergency


The military arrested top statesmen, claiming the last general election in 2020 was rigged. State-run media ceased to work, and telecommunications in the capital and some other regions are down

Source : 112 Ukraine 1 February 2021

Military coup in Myanmar
Reuters

A military coup took place in Myanmar on early Monday, February 1. The troops arrested President U Wyn Myint, State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other top-rank statesmen. Press secretary of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), Dr. Myo Nyunt said so in a commentary for Xinhua. The official added that he himself would be detained soon, either.

As the arrests were conducted, the military TV of Myanmar announced the state of emergency in this country, which is supposed to last one year. The MRTV, the state-run television and radio ceased to work. Telecommunications in the capital and some other regions are down.

According to Reuters, the said events occurred several days after escalation of tensions between the civilian government and the military. The latter claim that the general election in 2020 were rigged.

Related: Ukraine’s government approves military cooperation with Myanmar

The latesy general election in Myanmar took place in November 2020. The ruling NLD seized the majority of seats on both chambers of the Parliament, which allowed them to shape the government. Other parties and the military claimed that the election was unfair. The army representatives promised to "take action". Rumors about possible military coup spread across the society.

Myanmar: What You Need to Know
By VOA News
February 01, 2021 

Vehicles are driven past the Sule Pagoda, Feb. 1, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.

Myanmar’s military said Monday it was taking control of the country for one year after declaring a state of emergency.

Why did this happen?

The military claimed there was voting fraud in November elections in which de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a large majority in parliament. Myanmar’s election commission has rejected the fraud allegation.

Why now?

The military’s move came hours before the new parliament was due to sit for the first time.

What happened to NLD leaders?

A party spokesman said Aung San Suu Kyi was detained early Monday, along with other officials, including President Win Myint.

How has the international community responded?

Statements of condemnation for the military’s actions have come from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the U.S. State Department and White House, and from several other countries including Australia, India and Singapore.

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Myanmar’s military reverts to its old strong-arm behaviour — and the country takes a major step backwards
Adam Simpson and Nicholas Farrelly

Feb 01 2021

THEIN ZAW/AP
It is difficult to see how the military will benefit from another coup, since it already enjoyed immense political and economic influence under the previous power-sharing agreement.

Just before the newly elected members of Myanmar’s parliament were due to be sworn in on Monday, the military detained the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi; the president, Win Myint; and other key figures from the elected ruling party, the National League for Democracy.

The military later announced it had taken control of the country for 12 months and declared a state of emergency. This is a coup d'etat, whether the military calls it that or not.
A disputed election and claims of fraud

In November, the NLD and Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in national elections, with the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) faring poorly in its key strongholds.

Humiliated by the result, the USDP alleged the election was subject to widespread fraud. However, international observers, including the Carter Center, the Asian Network for Free Elections and the European Union’s Election Observation Mission, all declared the elections a success. The EU’s preliminary statement noted that 95 per cent of observers had rated the process “good” or “very good”.

Reputable local organisations, such as the People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), agreed. These groups issued a joint statement on January 21 saying “the results of the elections were credible and reflected the will of the majority voters.”

Yet, taking a page out of former US President Donald Trump’s book, the USDP pressed its claims of fraud despite the absence of any substantial evidence – a move designed to undermine the legitimacy of the elections.

THEIN ZAW/AP
Supporters of the Myanmar military and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party hold placards that read "Do not accept interference by foreign countries.”

The military did not initially back the USDP’s claims, but it has gradually begun to provide the party with more support, with the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, General Min Aung Hlaing, refusing to rule out a coup last week.

The following day, the country’s election authorities broke weeks of silence and firmly rejected the USDP’s claims of widespread fraud – setting the stage for what Myanmar historian Thant Myint-U called “[Myanmar’s] most acute constitutional crisis since the abolition of the old junta in 2010.”

The civilian-military power-sharing arrangement

It is difficult to see how the military will benefit from today’s actions, since the power-sharing arrangement it had struck with the NLD under the 2008 constitution had already allowed it to expand its influence and economic interests in the country.

The military had previously ruled Myanmar for half a century after General Ne Win launched a coup in 1962. A so-called internal “self-coup” in 1988 brought a new batch of military generals to power. That junta, led by Senior General Than Shwe, allowed elections in 1990 that were won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s party. The military leaders, however, refused to acknowledge the results.

AUNG SHINE OO/AP

Since early 2016, Suu Kyi has been de facto leader of Myanmar, even though there is still no civilian oversight of the military. Until this past week, the relationship between civilian and military authorities was tense at times, but overall largely cordial.

In 2008, a new constitution was drawn up by the junta which reserved 25 per cent of the national parliament seats for the military and allowed it to appoint the ministers of defence, border affairs and home affairs, as well as a vice president. Elections in 2010 were boycotted by the NLD, but the party won a resounding victory in the next elections in 2015.

Since early 2016, Suu Kyi has been de facto leader of Myanmar, even though there is still no civilian oversight of the military. Until this past week, the relationship between civilian and military authorities was tense at times, but overall largely cordial. It was based on a mutual recognition of overlapping interests in key areas of national policy.

Indeed, this power-sharing arrangement has been extremely comfortable for the military, as it has had full autonomy over security matters and maintained lucrative economic interests.

The partnership allowed the military’s “clearance operations” in Rakhine State in 2017 that resulted in the exodus of 740,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh.

In the wake of that pogrom, Suu Kyi vigorously defended both the country and its military at the International Court of Justice. Myanmar’s global reputation – and Suu Kyi’s once-esteemed personal standing – suffered deeply and never recovered.

Nonetheless, there was one key point of contention between the NLD and military: the constitutional prohibitions that made it impossible for Suu Kyi to officially take the presidency. Some NLD figures have also voiced deep concerns about the permanent role claimed by the armed forces as an arbiter of all legal and constitutional matters in the country.
A backwards step for Myanmar

Regardless of how events unfold this week and beyond, Myanmar’s fragile democracy has been severely undermined by the military’s actions.

The NLD government has certainly had its shortcomings, but a military coup is a significant backwards step for Myanmar – and is bad news for democracy in the region.

It’s difficult to see this action as anything other than a way for General Min Aung Hlaing to retain his prominent position in national politics, given he is mandated to retire this year when he turns 65. With the poor electoral performance of the USDP, there are no other conceivable political routes to power, such as through the presidency.

A coup will be counterproductive for the military in many ways. Governments around the world will likely now apply or extend sanctions on members of the military. Indeed, the US has released a statement saying it would “take action” against those responsible. Foreign investment in the country – except perhaps from China – is also likely to plummet.

As Myanmar’s people have already enjoyed a decade of increased political freedoms, they are also likely to be uncooperative subjects as military rule is re-imposed.

The 2020 general election demonstrated, once again, the distaste in Myanmar for the political role of the armed forces and the enduring popularity of Suu Kyi. Her detention undermines the fragile coalition that was steering Myanmar through a perilous period, and could prove a messy end to the profitable détente between civilian and military forces.

Adam Simpson is a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia and Nicholas Farrelly is a professor and head of social sciences at the University of Tasmania

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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* New president of Myanmar sworn in

Ten years of freedom ends: Myanmar's tarnished heroine sees dark days return

While her international reputation is stained, ‘The Lady’ is beloved at home and her detention will be seen as a return to military oppression

Aung San Suu Kyi calls for Myanmar protests in wake of coup

Myanmar protesters residing in Japan hold photos of Aung San Suu Kyi as they rally against the military coup Photograph: Issei Kato/Reuters


Ben Doherty and Rebecca Ratcliffe
Mon 1 Feb 2021 06.54 GMT

A decade ago, there was such hope.

In the dusk of a cool November evening in 2010, Myanmar’s feared military dropped the barricades on University Avenue that had separated Aung San Suu Kyi from her people for so long.

As The Guardian reported the elation then:

In longyis and sandals, Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters ran the 400 yards to the front gate of her home. One woman, a portrait of “The Lady” pinned to her shirt, wept as she ran, calling out her name. They pushed against the ancient, sagging bamboo fence, singing and chanting, “long live Aung San Suu Kyi”.

Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest was greeted with similar rapture around the world. Prime ministers and presidents hailed her liberty as the dawn of a new democratic era in her nation, so long under the ruthless jackboot of an uncompromising military junta.

The daughter of the Father of the Nation – General Aung San, who had founded the tatmadaw and helped win his country its independence - had become, through the confinement of 15 years of house arrest out of 21, an icon of peaceful democratic resistance.


Aung San Suu Kyi calls for Myanmar protests in wake of coup

Throughout her detention, Suu Kyi was unimpeachable. Lauded with prizes - the Nobel, the Sakharov, the US presidential medal of freedom – she represented grace and dignity.
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But in the decade since her release, Suu Kyi transitioned from democratic icon to working politician, and fell hard from her pedestal.

Her demise, in the west’s eyes, was slow, before it was swift.

The 2015 election saw her National League for Democracy win resoundingly. Unable to become president (because her children, with late academic Michael Aris, are foreign nationals), she became instead state counsellor and foreign minister, the country’s de facto leader.

But the deals she needed to make with a military that still – by dint of the country’s new constitution - controlled 25% of parliamentary seats as well the government’s key ministries, meant she was fundamentally weakened.

The promised economic liberalisation was meek and cronyistic, and the longed-for development for the country’s poorest never came.

Concerns grew that her acquiescence brought legitimacy to a regime still controlled by those in uniform, and which remained deeply undemocratic.

But most glaring was her unwillingness or inability to condemn the atrocities of the military her father founded, as it waged a genocide against the Rohingya minority in the country’s west – torching villages, raping and murdering those who could not escape over the border into Bangladesh.

The world called on Aung San Suu Kyi to defend the most marginalised, the most oppressed in the nation she led. Instead of defence, there was dissemblance.

“The situation in Rakhine state is complex and not easy to fathom,” she told the international court of justice in the Hague, saying allegations of genocide were an “incomplete and misleading factual picture of the situation”.

Aung San Suu Kyi is, and has always been, a Burmese nationalist, her concept of nation deeply bound up in ethnic identity. The plight of Myanmar’s multifarious ethnic minorities (not just the Rohingya) has always been her blind spot.

The daughter of the country’s greatest nationalist hero, it is a core tenet of her personal and political philosophy.

But while she has fallen unceremoniously in the eyes of the international community, she remains adored in Myanmar.

Inside the country, her detention by the army will be seen as a return to the dark days of oppressive military rule. The military has announced it will take control of the country for a full year, while, it says, it investigates fraud during last year’s general election. On Monday afternoon, Aung San Suu Kyi called on the public to protest against the coup.

The army’s actions could easily backfire, said David Mathieson, an independent Myanmar analyst.

“I don’t think [the military] can count on the inaction of a lot of people around the country,” he said. “You’ve got a generation who grew up with her in house arrest, and a younger generation who grew up with her being free, and really supporting her. And there are a lot of people in ethnic states who can’t stand her, or [her] party – but hate the military,” he added.

Around the world, despite Aung San Suu Kyi’s irreparably tarnished reputation, the military seizing control has been met with universal and vociferous condemnation. Inside the country, there is a deep sense of uncertainty.

“The doors just opened to a very different future,” author and historian Thant Myint-U wrote.

“I have a sinking feeling that no one will really be able to control what comes next. And remember Myanmar’s a country awash in weapons, with deep divisions across ethnic & religious lines, where millions can barely feed themselves.”

Military coup in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi detained

Military declares state of emergency claiming fraud in election, after early morning raids detaining senior members of elected government.

Myanmar state TV said on Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Suu Kyi had been detained [File: Aung Shine Oo/AP]

31 Jan 2021

Myanmar’s military has taken power and declared a state of emergency after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials in a series of early morning raids that followed days of escalating tension over the outcome of the November election, which the ruling party won by a landslide.

A video address broadcast on military-owned television said power had been handed to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The emergency will remain in force for a year, it said.

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Myo Nyunt, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) said earlier on Monday, that Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been “taken” in the early hours of the morning.

Later on Monday, the NLD said Aung San Suu Kyi called on the public not to accept the coup and to protest.

“The actions of the military are actions to put the country back under a dictatorship,” the NLD said in a statement which carried leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s name. “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military.”

Myanmar’s Parliament, where the military is given a quarter of seats and wields more power through its proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was due to open in the country’s capital Naypyidaw from Monday.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were detained by the government in an early morning series of raids on Monday, the day the new parliament was supposed to sit [File: Aung Shine Oo/Reuters]Politicians from states and regions, as well as prominent political activists were also detained, while mobile and phone networks were seeing disruption. State media was also taken off-air.


Monday’s developments drew immediate condemnation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the developments were a “serious blow to democratic reforms” and urged all leaders to refrain from violence and respect human rights, a UN spokesman said.

“We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Australia said it was “deeply concerned” at the situation, as did India.

“India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar,” a statement from the foreign ministry said. “We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. We are monitoring the situation closely.”

Questioning election

The NLD won November’s elections by a landslide, but the military has been waging a months-long campaign to discredit the outcome, despite no firm evidence of wrongdoing.


The Supreme Court is currently considering its claims, but the situation escalated last week when Min Aung Hlaing threatened to abolish the constitution. On Saturday, the military, also known as the Tatmadaw, appeared to backtrack saying media had taken the general’s comments out of context.

“The Tatmadaw will defend the 2008 Constitution and only act within the boundary of existing laws,” it said.

“The people of Myanmar had their say in November’s vote, and overwhelmingly sent the message that they reject army rule,” said Charles Santiago, the chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a Malaysian MP. “The military must respect the will of the people and allow parliament to proceed.”

Santiago urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, to “immediately use all its diplomatic power to de-escalate the situation and allow democracy to prevail.”


Singapore’s Foreign Ministry expressed “grave concern” at events and urged all parties to exercise restraint and work towards a positive and peaceful outcome. Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines all shied away from criticism saying the military takeover was Myanmar’s internal affair. All four countries are members of ASEAN.

Amid the rising political uncertainty, people in Yangon, the country’s biggest city and commercial capital, had begun flying the NLD’s red flag from their balconies in solidarity with the governing party, while banners had also been erected in the streets declaring support for the elected government.

A banner erected in support of Aung San Suu Ky and the elected government in Yangon. The new parliament was due to sit on Monday [Thein Zaw/AP Photo]

Military supporters holding the Myanmar national flags march in a protest against the election commission [Lynn Bo Bo/EPA]On the streets many places were closed but street markets were packed with people buying supplies like rice, eggs, and vegetables. The city remained relatively quiet and calm, but many were alarmed by the developments.

A 25-year-old woman who works at a packing company declined to be named said the network disruption meant she was unable to contact her family in eastern Shan State.

“I’m very worried about my family and I cannot even go back to my hometown [because of COVID restrictions],” she said.

“This is not good, I’m worried about what it will mean. Things will get bad. People will probably protest and I honestly don’t know what will happen next.”

The last week has been marked by rival protests in support of the NLD and the armed forces.

“It’s at a critical juncture,” said Damien Kingsbury, a Myanmar expert at Deakin University in Australia. “It’s either the end of military involvement in Myanmar politics or it’s a coup. There’s no middle ground on this. This is crunch time.”

Myanmar, once a British colony, was led by the military for decades before it began a transition to democracy in 2008.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the only daughter of national independence hero Aung San, and spent years under the house arrest during the military regime.

With reporting by Andrew Nachemson in Yangon.

Menendez calls for U.S. sanctions against Myanmar after military coup

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez. (Photo: Kevin Sanders for New Jersey Globe)

By David Wildstein, January 31 2021 

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who is about to assume the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tonight condemned the detention of Myanmar head of state Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after a military coup on Sunday.

“The launch of another coup would be a tragedy for the people of Burma after a decade of work to establish a civilian-led democratic government,” Menendez said. “The Tatmadaw, who are guilty of genocide against the Rohingya and of a sustained campaign of violence against Burma’s ethnic minorities, must immediately free the democratic leaders of Myanmar and remove themselves from government.”

Menendez said that if the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar armed forces, do not release government officials being held, the U.S. and other nations “should impose strict economic sanctions, as well as other measures, against the Tatmadaw and the military leadership of Burma.:

“I look forward to working with President Biden and Senators Schumer and McConnell to take immediate action and stand with the people of Burma in the face of military oppression,” Menendez said.

Myanmar army seizes power in apparent coup, declares state of emergency

Aung San Suu Kyi along with members of her party were detained by the military.

ByKarson Yiu
31 January 2021

Myanmar’s army seized power in an apparent coup during the early morning hours Monday, detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with members of her party and declared a state of emergency for at least one year, signaling an end to the Southeast Asian nation's nascent democratic experiment.

A newsreader on the military-owned Myawaddy TV confirmed the coup hours later, citing fraud in the country’s elections this past November, which Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, still revered in her country despite losing some of her international luster for her refusal to condemn the Myanmar army’s atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority, is understood to have had a tentative shared power agreement with the military since she came to power in 2015, offering the government a veneer of democratic legitimacy as they embarked on a decade of reforms.

MORE: 3 years later, US pressed to declare Rohingya crisis 'genocide,' hold Myanmar accountable

The election was meant to be a referendum on Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi’s popular civilian government but they expanded their seats in the parliament threatening the military's tight hold on power. The new civilian-led government was meant to have convened for the first time on Monday.


Ye Aung Thu/AFP via Getty Images
(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 19, 2018, Myanmar's Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlain...

Power has now been handed over to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who is already under U.S. sanctions for his role in the human rights abuses against the Rohingyas.

The military previously ruled this Southeast Asia nation, also known as Burma, for nearly five decades before appearing to slowly transition to democratic rule a decade ago and holding its first general elections in years in 2015 and again this past November.


U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken quickly said the “military must reverse these actions immediately” and “to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8. The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development.”

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt confirmed to Reuters Suu Kyi, Myanmar President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were “taken” in the early hours of the morning, adding that he expected to be arrested himself. Reuters reported that it subsequently was unable to contact him.

The state-run Radio and Television (MRTV) announced on its social media page that it was no longer working on Monday morning. There were also reports of phones and internet being cut in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw and in some parts of the commercial center of Yangon.

The U.S. embassy in Myanmar urged U.S. citizens there to “avoid unnecessary travel, monitor local media, and avoid large gatherings.”


Aung Shine Oo/AP
FILE - In this May 6, 2016, file photo, Aung San Suu Kyi, left, Myanmar's foreign minister, walks w...

Signs of an impending coup were building in the last couple of weeks as a military spokesperson said on Jan. 26 that he did not rule out the possibility of a coup when asked about it at a media conference. The next day, the now-newly installed leader Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech at a military academy that "if the constitution is not followed, then it should be declared invalid.”

Nikkei Asia reported that according to military sources, the military and the government held talks in Nay Pyi Taw as late as Jan. 28 in an attempt to reach common ground but ultimately failed to come to an agreement.

MORE: Rohingya refugees say they would choose death over repatriation to Myanmar

Local reports said the military expressed concerns about the electoral commission and demanded a recount of the votes and a postponement of Monday’s opening of the parliament, but Suu Kyi’s government refused.

Myanmar historian and celebrated author Thant Myin-U warned of an ominous near future for his home in a tweet, “The doors just opened to a very different future. I have a sinking feeling that no one will really be able to control what comes next. And remember Myanmar’s a country awash in weapons, with deep divisions across ethnic and religious lines, where millions can barely feed themselves.”


Military takes control of Myanmar; Suu Kyi reported detained

Myanmar military television says the military is taking control of the country for one year, while reports say many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi have been detained

By The Associated Press
31 January 2021


The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2019, file photo, Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during a joint...

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar -- Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.

A presenter on military-owned Myawaddy TV announced the takeover and cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. He said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.

The announcement and the declaration of a state of emergency follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup — and military denials that it would stage one — and came on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to begin.

The takeover is a sharp reversal of the partial yet significant progress toward democracy Myanmar made in recent years following five decades of military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It would also be shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, who led the democracy struggle despite years under house arrest and and won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy released a statement on the Facebook page of its party head saying the military’s actions were unjustified and went against the constitution and the will of voters. The statement urged people to oppose Monday’s “coup” and any return to “military dictatorship.”

It was not possible to confirm who posted the message as NLD members were not answering phone calls.

The military's actions were already receiving widespread international condemnation.

New U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken issued a statement expressing “grave concern and alarm” over the reported detentions.


“We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections,” he wrote, using Myanmar's former name. “The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development.”

The office of the U.N. secretary-general was also among those to issue a statement condemning the developments as a “serious blow to democratic reforms.”

The detention of the politicians and cuts in television signals and communication services on Monday were the first signs that plans to seize power were in motion. Phone and internet access to Naypyitaw was lost and Suu Kyi’s party could not be reached. Phone service in other parts of the country was also reported down, though people were still able to use the internet in many areas.

The Irrawaddy, an established online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, who as state counsellor is the nation’s top leader, and the country’s president, Win Myint, were both detained in the pre-dawn hours. The news service cited Myo Nyunt, a spokesman for the NLD.

Its report said that the party’s Central Executive Committee members, lawmakers and regional Cabinet members had also been taken into custody.

A list of other people believed to have been detained, compiled by political activists who asked not to be named for security reasons, included filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi, writer Maung Thar Cho, and prominent veterans of the country's 1988 student protest movement, such as Ko Ko Gyi and Min Ko Naing. Their detention could not immediately be confirmed.

The military TV report said Commander-in-Chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing would be in charge of the country, while Vice President Myint Swe would be elevated to acting president. Myint Swe is a former general best known for leading a brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks in 2007. He is a close ally of former junta leader Than Shwe.

As word of the military’s actions spread in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, there was a growing sense of unease among residents who earlier in the day had still been packed into cafes for breakfast and had been doing their morning shopping.

People were removing the bright red flags of Suu Kyi’s party that once adorned their homes and businesses. Lines formed at ATMs as people waited to take out cash, efforts that were being complicated by internet disruptions. Workers at some businesses decided to go home.

Monday's parliamentary session was to be the first since last year’s election, as tension lingered over recent comments by the military that were widely seen as threatening a coup.

The military, however, maintains its actions are legally justified, though Suu Kyi's party spokesman as well as many international observers have said it is in effect a coup.

The 2008 constitution, drafted and implemented during military rule, has a clause that says in case there is a national emergency, the president in coordination with the military-dominated National Defense and Security Council can issue an emergency decree to hand over the government’s executive, legislative and judicial powers to the military’s commander-in-chief.

The clause had been described by New York-based Human Rights Watch as a “coup mechanism in waiting.”

It is just one of many parts of the charter that ensured the military could maintain ultimate control over the country at the expense elected politicians. The military also was guaranteed 25% of seats in Parliament and control of several key ministries, especially those involved in security and defense.

The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is by far the country’s most popular politician, and became the country’s de facto leader after her party won 2015 elections, though the constitution barred her from being president. She had been a fierce antagonist of the army during her time under house arrest.

Nevertheless, once in power Suu Kyi had to balance her relationship with the country's generals and even went on the international stage to defend their crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in the country's west, a campaign the U.S. and others have labeled genocide. That has left her reputation internationally in tatters.

She remains wildly popular at home, where most supported the campaign against the Rohingya. Suu Kyi’s party captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of Parliament in last November’s polls.

The military, known as the Tatmadaw, has charged that there was massive voting fraud in the election, though it has failed to provide proof. The state Union Election Commission last week rejected its allegations.

Amid the bickering over the allegations, the military last Tuesday ramped up political tension when a spokesman at its weekly news conference, responding to a reporter’s question, declined to rule out the possibility of a coup. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun elaborated by saying the military would “follow the laws in accordance with the constitution.”

Using similar language, the military chief told senior officers in a speech Wednesday that the constitution could be revoked if the laws were not being properly enforced. Adding to the concern was the unusual deployment of armored vehicles in the streets of several large cities.

On Saturday and Sunday, however, the military denied it had threatened a coup, accusing unnamed organizations and media of misrepresenting its position.