AP Journalist

Myanmar anti-coup protests continue for 4th consecutive day even as military warns of action

Myanmar’s junta on Monday declared curfew in the country’s two biggest cities amid growing protests against last week’s military coup. As widespread demonstrations entered the third day, the new military rulers of the country banned public gatherings of more than five people in order to control the protesters. 

However, thousands of people defied the ban on public gatherings to join nationwide protests against the military removal of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Military moved soldiers with water cannons to Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, Yangon and other major cities in order to disperse the protesters. As soldiers entered to the cities, they blocked roads and forced protesters to retreat. 

Significantly, protesters have also taken over social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to voice their demands for the release of civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the withdrawal of the military from the government. 

Myanmar’s junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Monday issued the first televised address since the coup, vowing to hold fresh elections after the year-long state of emergency in the country. He further reiterated his claims of voter fraud in November’s election which was won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party (NLD) with a landslide majority. 

“We will have a multiparty election and we will hand the power to the one who wins in that election, according to the rules of democracy,” he said.

Justifying the military’s seizure of power, Min Aung Hlaing claimed that the country’s Election Commission did not allow fair poll campaigning by using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse. Calling the coup “unavoidable”, Min Aung Hlaing also asked the protesting public to cooperate with the military for the “good of the country.”

Meanwhile, the electoral body has rebuffed the army leader’s allegations, maintaining that any irregularities in election results would not have changed the overwhelming vicotry of Suu Kyi’s party. Min Aung Hlaing has declared the formation of a new election commission to inspect the voting procedure.

Suu Kyi, along with other senior members of the NLD party and government officials were detained by the military last week. In addition, several legislators and human rights activists have been detained since the coup. 

The military also issued Martial law in a number of cities, warning anti-coup protesters against further demonstrations. The first wave of protests were led by members of the Students Union across various regions, with engineers, teachers and monks joining in later days. Holding posters and banners with portraits of Suu Kyi’s face, thousands of protesters chanted anti-coup slogans while demanding the removal of military and release of detained elected lawmakers.

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After the coup, the army also intermittently blocked internet, mobile data networks, and social media websites to counter dissent across the country. 

Reportedly, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been reaching out to Asian governments to lead a collective and bilateral action for the reversal of the military coup in Myanmar. 

“The Secretary-General continues to follow the situation in Myanmar closely and with grave concern. He and his Special Envoy have been reaching out to key international actors, including regional leaders, in calling for collective and bilateral action to create conditions for the recent coup in Myanmar to be reversed,” Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric said on Monday. 

On Thursday, South Korea’s Moon Jae-in and the US President Joe Biden on a telephone call discussed strengthening the United States-ROK alliance and work towards achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

After his first telephone conversation with the US President’s inauguration ceremony, President Moon Jae-in tweeted that he had an incredible conversation with President @JoeBiden @POTUS and that he welcomed the US’s return amidst challenges like environmental change, coronavirus pandemic, and economic polarization. 

We will consistently stand together as we work towards peace on the Korean Peninsula and also address global challenges. He expressed that the two nations have vowed to further upgrade the Republic of Korea-US partnership, an alliance that is secured in shared values.

Moon, became President of the Republic of Korea in 2017 and was once the motivating force behind the now-stagnant diplomacy between North Korean pioneer Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump. The talks between Kim and Trump collapsed in mid-2019 when Washington dismissed North Korea’s calls for sanction reliefs in exchange for limited denuclearization measures.

As per Bloomberg, the ties between the allies were tried under former US president Trump, who kept blaming South Korea for fooling the U.S. furthermore, demanded a five-fold increase in fees to support US troops posted there.

The White House in a statement said that “president Biden in a conversation with Moon stressed his commitment to fortifying the US-(South Korea) alliance, which is the key part for promoting peace and prosperity in the Northeast Asia region.” It added that both presidents consented to intently coordinate on North Korea. 

Earlier on Thursday, Moon tweeted that he had a great talk with Biden. “We will stand together as we work for tranquility on the Korean Peninsula and tackle various worldwide challenges,” he added. 

Moon’s office stated that both the leaders agreed that the cooperation among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo is significant for building regional peace, The Associated Press reported.

Many countries, including Japan, South Korea, and the US, had expressed concern over China’s role in the spread of the Corona pandemic and had threatened to move their production bases out of China. The plan in the offing is to relocate to other alternate production bases.

The Japanese government, in its attempt to diversify its supply chain and ensure its continuity, had announced a series of incentives to Japanese companies to move out of China. The move was to relocate their production bases to the home country or in South East Asian countries.

According to a report that The South China Post carried, so far, there is no large scale exodus of Japanese companies from mainland China. At least five companies that the daily spoke to said that they are likely to continue to stay back in China. China remains an important market. The companies that spoke to the South China Post added that any shifting out would be expensive and can add to further disruption, as it would involve moving out of huge infrastructure.

One of the major companies which are against any changes in production is Toyota. In a statement, the automobile company said, “The auto industry uses a lot of suppliers and operates a vast supply chain, and it would be impossible to switch in an instant. We understand the government’s position, but we have no plans to change our production.”

A similar statement was issued by Lixil, the household, and construction material company.

Another company, which choose to remain anonymous said they did not think of moving out of the country as their products are designed specifically to keep Chinese consumers in mind.

Following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the Japanese government had announced 220 billion yen (US$ 2 billion) to woo companies back to Japan. In a similar move, a package of 23.5 billion yen was announced to incentivize companies to move to Southeast Asian countries.

Production in many of these Japanese companies was stalled when the Chinese economy came to a halt to check the spread of coronavirus since December 2019.

To move base for any major industry cannot be decided sooner as these production houses are heavily dependent on ancillary industries supplies. The future host countries should also ensure to clear many legal and regulatory norms to allow investments.

Analysts also believe Japanese industries might face new tariffs if there is an escalation of the US-China trade war.

COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is gravely damaging economies across the globe. More so for countries like Afghanistan, which has been embroiled in civil war for almost four decades. The country has a fragile political system; the peace process has been staggering, with no definite outcomes. The lockdown is proving to be a significant blow to the fragile country’s economy.

According to a report on 4 May, corona cases in the landlocked country is close to touching the 3000 marks. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned yesterday that the deadly virus might infect about 80 percent of the country’s 35 million.

Reports add that the infection rate among Afghan nationals might be one of the highest. And to make the situation more precarious, the nation has to safely bring back more than 250,000 citizens from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran; a similar lockdown in Pakistan and Iran triggered the return of hundreds of migrants back to their home country.

About 4.1 million people affected by the internal conflict live in urban and rural areas where the necessary facilities are lacking. These displaced people with no access to hygienic living conditions, remain vulnerable to contract COVID infection.

The civil war and prevailing security situation pose a severe risk for health officials to reach out to patients in the remote area for testing.

For Afghanistan, the road to fighting back the disease and to recovery is going to be long and challenging. The country’s public health care system is frail, and NGOs do not have access to several remote parts of the country.

Children and women will be more prone to exploitation and abuse due to lockdown and the economic hardship; the lockdown is going to impose.

The government is unstable as it remains embroiled in the debate over who won the last year’s presidential election. The US has frozen transfer of funds due to political uncertainty. The country would need economic aid and more relief as the landlocked country has a low tax base.

Taliban’s refusal to stop violence in pockets of Afghanistan has delayed the peace process.

Community chiefs and influential religious leaders must step in to spread awareness about the disease and help the marginalized.