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NESA stands in solidarity with Myanmar people

On 1st of February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup d’état by overthrowing the people-elected government. The new military government declared a one-year state of emergency, with Myanmar's armed forces commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing leading the country. The State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other regional leaders were arrested by the military government.
After the coup, the military ordered the telecommunication company to shut down major social media in the country, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, thus prohibiting the communication between Myanmar people and the international community. Subsequently, the Myanmar people launched a series of civil disobedience movements and street protests to voice out their dissidents. The movement gained wide support in different social groups, such as medical personnel, university students, and some government officials.
New Student Movement Alliance of Malaysia hereby issues the following statements in response to the Myanmar military coup:
1. Condemn the Myanmar’s military coup and neglect of people’s will.
In the Myanmar national election of year 2020, the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi attained legitimate rule over Myanmar granted by the people, and had won a majority in both the upper house and lower house of the parliament. The military previously had claimed the election was a fraud, although the claim was rejected by the Myanmar election’s commission, they resorted to overthrow the people-elected government by force and prevent the convening of the parliament. The military had violated the spirit of democracy in pursuit of their personal benefits.
2. Condemn the Myanmar’s military for blockading information and suppressing freedom of speech.
The act of shutting down major social media in the country oppressed the people’s freedom of speech, it prevented the people from expressing their opinions freely and silenced dissidents in the country. If the military were to prioritise the benefit of the country and the people, it should not obstruct information sources during the pandemic, as the free-flow of information and transparency proved crucial in the fight against the pandemic.
3. Demand the release of political detainees.
According to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma), there were at least 165 political detainees arrested by the military, including many people representatives and social activists. We demand the military to release all involved political detainees, and halt the oppression towards individuals and organizations that participated in the civil disobedience movements and voice out their objection towards the military coup.
4. Call for the implementation of targeted sanctions by the free world.
We call on countries in the free world to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military via exerting economic pressure aimed to force the transition of the ruling power from the military to a legitimate people-elected government. The international community should impose targeted sanctions on corporations that have beneficial ties with Myanmar's military, thus preventing the total decline of Myanmar’s economy that causes the suffering of the Populus.
5. ASEAN should diplomatically promote the democratization of Myanmar and prepare to respond to a humanitarian crisis.
To secure the region’s long-term stability and peace, ASEAN countries should diplomatically promote the democratization of Myanmar. Besides, ASEAN also should cooperate with the international community on affairs related to the coup in Myanmar and devise measures to respond to possible large-scale Myanmar refugee crises caused by the suppression of Myanmar’s military.
The recent military coup had severely affected the democratization of Myanmar. NESA stands in solidarity with the Myanmar people and their democracy movement, we also call for the international community to pay attention and stand in solidarity with them. Malaysians should treat this incident as an example of the risk faced by democracy, and defend the democratic system in Malaysia.
NESA Malaysia

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