Myanmar Residents Resist Military Coup Banging Pots and Pans
Published Date: 2/3/2021
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake: Now
The first known public signs of resistance against Myanmar's military coup came Tuesday evening in Yangon, the country's biggest city, after several pro-democracy activist groups asked people to make noise at 8 p.m. to show their opposition to the military takeover. What was initially planned to take place for just a few minutes extended to more than a quarter of an hour in several neighborhoods. Drivers honked their horns while people on their balconies banged pots and pans, possibly reflecting a traditional local belief that making noise chases away evil. At the same time, shouts could be heard wishing detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi good health and calling for freedom and abolishing dictatorship. The Myanmar military staged a coup on Monday and detained senior politicians, including Nobel laureate and de facto government leader Suu Kyi. The military said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military's claims of fraud in November's elections — in which Suu Kyi's ruling party won a majority of the parliamentary seats up for grabs — and because it did not delay the opening of Parliament. Now that Myanmar’s generals have ousted Suu Kyi, they must figure out how to beat her in an election. Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing said Monday he would revamp the election commission and hold a “free and fair” vote once the state of emergency expires in a year. He justified the military takeover by alleging widespread fraud in a November election in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won more than 80% of available seats. The claims of a rigged election haven’t been backed up by any credible evidence. Myanmar’s election commission rejected allegations of fraud and international observers largely gave the vote a clean bill of health. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake