Obama urges world to reject Myanmar junta, warns of 'failed state'
WASHINTON, United States — Former US president Barack Obama on Monday urged all nations to stand firm against Myanmar's junta, voicing solidarity with democracy protesters and warning of a "failed state."
"The world's attention must remain on Myanmar, where I've been appalled by heartbreaking violence against civilians and inspired by the nationwide movement that represents the voice of the people," said Obama, who visited the country to support its nascent embrace of democracy a decade ago.
"The military's illegitimate and brutal effort to impose its will after a decade of greater freedoms will clearly never be accepted by the people and should not be accepted by the wider world," Obama said in a statement.
Obama, who is sparing in his comments on international affairs, backed efforts by the United States under President Joe Biden and other nations to "impose costs on the military" in a bid to restore democracy.
"Myanmar's neighbors should recognize that a murderous regime rejected by the people will only bring greater instability, humanitarian crisis, and the risk of a failed state," he said.
He was speaking on the heels of an ASEAN summit in Jakarta to which junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was invited, with host Indonesia urging an end to violence.
Myanmar's military on February 1 overthrew the elected government and arrested democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It has harshly cracked down on democratic protests, killing more than 700 people.
Obama in his statement used the name Myanmar, the preferred usage of the Southeast Asian nation's leaders which his administration had gradually adopted.
Since the coup, the Biden administration has gone back to the former name Burma.
Follow this thread for updates on the situation in Myanmar, where a coup may be happening after de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials have reportedly been detained by the military.
Photo: Military officers wearing facemasks who serve as members of Myanmar's parliament leave after a session at the Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) in Naypyidaw on March 10, 2020. AFP/Ye Aung Thu
Myanmar's junta is endangering the life of jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, her political party says on Thursday, accusing the military of depriving her of medical care and food.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals seized power in February 2021, ending a 10-year democratic experiment and plunging the Southeast Asian country into bloody turmoil.
In recent days, local media have reported the Nobel laureate, 78, was suffering dizzy spells, vomiting and unable to eat because of a tooth infection. — AFP
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will be pardoned, state media says.
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country's political situation.
"We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level," Balakrishnan says when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance. — AFP
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