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The UN has condemned Myanmar’s military coup. Will that matter?

More than four months after the military <a href="https://www.vox.com/22260076/myanmar-coup-military-suu-kyi-explain">seized power</a> in Myanmar, the United Nations General Assembly took the rare step on Friday of voting to <a href="https://twitter.com/USEmbassyBurma/status/1406152339409444871?s=20">formally condemn</a> the February 1 coup and called for an end to arms dealing with the country.
The condemnation comes as UN officials express concern that the nation is on the brink of civil war and as humanitarian conditions worsen for civilians. While significant, though, the vote itself revealed complicated geopolitics that may stymie a more forceful international response to the situation.
The UN approved the <a href="https://undocs.org/en/A/75/L.85/Rev.1">resolution</a> by a vote of 119 to 1, with 36 countries abstaining. In addition to condemning the junta and calling for the return of a democratic government in Myanmar, the resolution also urges “all [UN] Member States to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.”
“The risk of a large-scale civil war is real,” Christine Schraner Burgener, the UN special envoy on Myanmar, said after the vote. “Time is of the essence. The opportunity to reverse the military takeover is narrowing.”
The resolution was lauded by members of the international community, including deputy head of the European Union delegation Ambassador Silvio Gonzato, who greeted it as “a rare and significant expression of the General Assembly condemnation in the face of a gross violation of fundamental democratic norms and neglecting the clearly expressed wish of a people.”
“The international community does not accept the coup, and it does not recognize any legitimacy to the regime that emerged from it,” Gonzato said Friday in a <a href="https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york/100320/eu-statement-%E2%80%93-united-nations-general-assembly-meeting-myanmar_en">statement</a>.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
With the support of 119 countries, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that calls on Myanmar’s military junta to restore the democratic transition and calls on all member states “to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar.” The international community has spoken. <a href="https://t.co/DqCPAwPX3R">pic.twitter.com/DqCPAwPX3R</a>
— U.S. Embassy Burma (@USEmbassyBurma) <a href="https://twitter.com/USEmbassyBurma/status/1406152339409444871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The UN has taken a similar step only three times since the end of the Cold War, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/un-general-assembly-condemns-myanmar-coup-calls-for-arms-embargo-20210619-p582ek.html">according to UN International Crisis Group Director Richard Gowan</a>, after military coups in Haiti, Burundi, and Honduras in 1991, 1993, and 2009, respectively. Such a unified response by the General Assembly was not deployed in response to other significant military power grabs in recent years, including <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/5/14/18093760/thailand-coup-problem">multiple national crises in Thailand</a>.
However, the resolution, which is nonbinding, is unlikely to make any immediate difference in the crisis currently plaguing Myanmar, and it stops short of imposing an outright arms embargo on the southeast Asian nation, which borders Thailand. And China and Russia — two of Myanmar’s largest suppliers of weapons — were among the countries that abstained from the vote.
On Sunday, Pope Francis <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pope-joins-myanmar-bishops-appeal-humanitarian-corridors-2021-06-20/">called</a> for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the country and for houses of worship to be offered as sanctuary to those fleeing violence. Hundreds of people have been killed since the February coup, and some 175,000 more have been displaced.
Initially, UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir had hoped to adopt Friday’s Myanmar resolution by consensus; in a speech prior to the vote, Bozkir <a href="https://www.un.org/pga/75/2021/06/18/general-assembly-meeting-on-myanmar/">told</a> members of the assembly that “when it comes to Myanmar we must act, as nations, united. I trust that you, as Guardians of the Charter of the United Nations, will join me in this call for peace.”
But Belarus, eventually the sole no vote on the resolution, forced a recorded vote instead, resulting in a significant number of abstentions.
Sometimes known as “Europe’s last dictatorship,” Belarus has previously sold weapons to Myanmar, <a href="https://twitter.com/JusticeMyanmar/status/1406242208244584448?s=20">according to the activist group Justice for Myanmar</a>, and the small eastern European nation has been the target of international scrutiny in its own right after dictator Alexander Lukashenko <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/8/10/21357805/belarus-election-tikhanovskaya-lukashenko-protest-minsk">held onto power</a> in a sham presidential election last year.
In addition to permanent UN Security Council members China and Russia, several members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, abstained from voting on the resolution. Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos — all of which are categorized as “<a href="https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores">not free</a>” by the international watchdog organization Freedom House — chose to abstain.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNGA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UNGA</a> resolution on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Myanmar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Myanmar</a> calls 
- for the "immediate release of all those detained arbitrarily" 
- "for safe & unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need" 
- on "all member states to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar" 
FULL TEXT➡️ <a href="https://t.co/GYC9f51Iqc">https://t.co/GYC9f51Iqc</a>
— Nadira Kourt (@NadiraKourt) <a href="https://twitter.com/NadiraKourt/status/1405975906007519240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Unsurprisingly, Myanmar’s military government has already <a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-general-assembly-united-nations-myanmar-db2fb69321987db34042d1cf1c273395">rejected</a> the resolution and accused the UN of infringing on Myanmar’s sovereignty. Despite that, however, the resolution was supported by Myanmar in the UN, where Myanmar ambassador to the UN <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/06/world/asia/myanmar-protests-un-ambassador.html">Kyaw Moe Tun</a>, who was appointed under the previous democratic government, has refused to leave his post.
“We need further strongest possible action from the international community to immediately end the military coup, to stop oppressing the innocent people, to return the state power to the people, and to restore the democracy,” Kyaw Moe Tun <a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1365498137369010176?s=20">said</a> in February.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Whoa. It is impossible to overstate the risks that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Myanmar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Myanmar</a> UN ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun just took in the <a href="https://twitter.com/UN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UN</a> General Assembly when (voice cracking) he just now called on world to oppose the military coup. See photo below of him giving the three-fingered salute of the protestors. <a href="https://t.co/qnmr0RMY0S">https://t.co/qnmr0RMY0S</a>
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamanthaJPower/status/1365328956136820742?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
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While Friday’s resolution is noteworthy, multiple UN officials — including Schraner Burgener and Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews — have called for the UN to do more as Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis worsens.
“[T]he [United Nations Security Council] should now take action by imposing an arms embargo, sanctions & measures to hold the junta accountable,” Andrews wrote in a <a href="https://twitter.com/RapporteurUn/status/1406310999284588544?s=20">tweet</a> on Saturday.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Yesterday's UNGA resolution on Myanmar was notable because of how strongly it rebuked the junta, AND because not a single UNSC member voted against it. This means that the UNSC should now take action by imposing an arms embargo, sanctions & measures to hold the junta accountable.
— UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@RapporteurUn) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapporteurUn/status/1406310999284588544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2021</a></blockquote>
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However, that could prove difficult. As permanent Security Council members, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-09/china-boosts-support-for-myanmar-army-countering-u-s-sanctions">China</a> and <a href="https://www.axios.com/russia-myanmar-visit-arms-sales-putin-syria-9055117e-7593-4775-ad01-0155517cfd06.html">Russia</a> both have veto power over Security Council proposals, and both have remained friendly with Myanmar since the coup earlier this year.
Chinese companies are among the largest suppliers of weaponry to the Myanmar military, according to a report by <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/supplying-02182021091648.html">Justice for Myanmar</a>, a pro-democracy advocacy group, and Russia has also <a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/asia-russia-05102021104354.html">sold</a> fighter jets and other matériel to Myanmar.
Previously, the Security Council <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/03/1086962">condemned</a> the use of violence against peaceful protesters in Myanmar and backed a democratic transition away from military rule in a March statement, but it’s unclear if more concrete actions against the Myanmar junta, such as an arms embargo, would escape a veto.
Myanmar’s democratic collapse has also engendered additional humanitarian crises, including a faltering health system and endangered food supplies, Schraner Burgener said on Friday, <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094322">according to the UN news agency</a>.
Currently, according to the UN, more than 600 people have been killed since the junta took power in February — the regime has repeatedly used <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-11/myanmar-army-uses-lethal-force-used-on-protesters-amnesty-finds/13237220">live ammunition</a> on <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/13/22329081/myanmar-protests-killed-casualties">peaceful protesters</a> — and thousands have been arrested. Around 175,000 people have been displaced, and more have fled to neighboring countries as refugees. On Sunday, Pope Francis called for military leaders to allow aid to reach those displaced people.
Some <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-activists-say-more-than-800-killed-by-security-forces-since-coup-2021-05-18/">reports</a>, however, put the death toll since February at 800 or more — and the true number is likely even worse.
In April, Human Rights Watch also <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/04/02/myanmar-hundreds-forcibly-disappeared">reported</a> that hundreds of people have been forcibly “disappeared” by the junta since February — a crime against humanity under <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/crimes-against-humanity.shtml">international law</a>.
Myanmar — sometimes <a href="https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-burma-different-names-explained-8af64e33cf89c565b074eec9cbe22b72">known as Burma</a> — has been in crisis since well before Friday’s UN resolution. In early February, the country’s military, which has long been a force in domestic politics, seized power after losing elections in November last year — citing, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57144397">without evidence</a>, voter fraud as the reason for their loss.
The coup, which ousted popular leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner <a href="https://www.vox.com/world/2017/9/7/16256164/myanmar-rohingya-muslim-flee-bangladesh-genocide-aung-san-suu-kyi">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>, was a return to an earlier era for Myanmar, which had been under military rule for decades until 2011. And it set off a massive, enduring pro-democracy movement, with protests <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-military-fails-quell-protests-four-months-after-coup-2021-06-01/">continuing this month</a> despite a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/3/13/22329081/myanmar-protests-killed-casualties">brutal crackdown</a> and the use of live ammunition by regime forces.
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<figcaption>A soldier patrols the street in front of the Central Bank building in Yangon, Myanmar during a pro-democracy demonstration on Feb. 15, 2021.</figcaption>
<cite>Aung Kyaw Htet/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</cite></figure>
As Vox’s Alex Ward <a href="https://www.vox.com/22260076/myanmar-coup-military-suu-kyi-explain">explained at the time</a>, the coup was telegraphed well ahead of time by the country’s military, which refused to accept the results of Myanmar’s November 2020 parliamentary elections.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-explainer/explainer-crisis-in-myanmar-after-army-alleges-election-fraud-idUSKBN2A113H">won overwhelmingly</a> in November, claiming fully 83 percent of the available seats in parliament.
Suu Kyi is a beloved national figure in Myanmar, and spent the better part of two decades under <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11751619">house arrest</a> for her pro-democracy activism after the NLD won parliamentary elections in 1990. She was only <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16546688">released</a> in 2010, shortly before Myanmar’s democratic transition.
However, she has become increasingly controversial in the eyes of the international community for her role in Myanmar’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/9/3/20837372/rohingya-refugee-myanmar-bangladesh-camp-violence">genocide</a> against the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority. Thousands of Rohingya people were killed, and more than 700,000 rounded up and deported, by the same military that is now in power.
As Vox’s Jariel Arvin <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/4/22266816/myanmar-coup-biden-military">reported</a> earlier this year, Suu Kyi “not only refused to condemn the military for its actions, but went as far as to defend them in an international court.” That decision has complicated international support for Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, which still venerates Suu Kyi.
In 2020, history repeated itself for Suu Kyi after her NLD party claimed a “landslide” November election victory. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22260076/myanmar-coup-military-suu-kyi-explain">According to Ward</a>:
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... the military and its political arm immediately <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-explainer/explainer-crisis-in-myanmar-after-army-alleges-election-fraud-idUSKBN2A113H">claimed the elections were fraudulent</a>, though <a href="https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2020/myanmar-111020.html">foreign observers</a> and the nation’s electoral commission declared there had been no significant problems. They went so far as to demand a new, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/30/myanmars-newly-elected-parliament-set-to-meet-amid-coup-threats">military-supervised election, filed 200 complaints to local election agencies, and took their case to the nation’s Supreme Court</a>.
Then ... a military spokesperson warned that the armed forces might “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-explainer/explainer-crisis-in-myanmar-after-army-alleges-election-fraud-idUSKBN2A113H">take action</a>” if their assertions of fraud weren’t taken seriously and notably refused to rule out a coup. Citing a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics/aung-san-suu-kyi-and-other-leaders-arrested-party-spokesman-says-idUSKBN2A00VC">provision in the constitution it drafted</a>, the military said it could launch a coup if the nation’s sovereignty was threatened and declare a national emergency.
“Unless this problem is resolved, it will obstruct the path to democracy and it must therefore be resolved according to the law,” a military spokesperson said.
</blockquote>
Finally, just before Myanmar’s parliament was set to certify the results of the election, the military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, seized power. They detained Suu Kyi and other government officials, as well as many activists, halted flights in and out of the country, and declared a state of emergency that would last one year.
Since then, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/2/14/22282818/myanmar-protests-military-coup-arrest-suu-kyi">hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters</a> have continued to push back on the junta, though with little success so far, and often facing <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/27/981894604/at-least-91-people-killed-in-myanmar-as-violence-continues-to-escalate">deadly violence</a>. Suu Kyi is once more under house arrest by the junta on charges of <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210615-myanmar-s-suu-kyi-goes-on-trial-for-sedition-in-junta-court">sedition</a>.
In addition to cracking down on civil society and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-world-news-embassies-myanmar-china-142587aef9a789b29a16d2ddce28bbe6">arresting</a> prominent activists and political opponents, the regime has blocked access to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and in April began <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/myanmar-coup-military-expands-internet-shutdown">shutting down broadband access</a> outright.
And military forces continue to unleash arbitrary violence against protesters, reportedly even launching <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-06-02/souring-peace-marches-myanmar-protesters-seek-weapons">mortar shells</a> into civilian neighborhoods. As Vox’s Jen Kirby <a href="https://www.vox.com/22412118/myanmar-coup-protesters-rohingya">reported</a> in May, “At 8 pm, <a href="https://twitter.com/nslwin/status/1388888700923305990?s=20">when people [in Yangon, Myanmar] still bang pots and pans in protest</a>, security forces will sometimes fire at the sounds — with slingshots, stones, bullets.”
In the face of such large-scale human rights violations, Friday’s UN resolution does little to clarify what comes next for Myanmar.
On Monday, after months of house arrest, Suu Kyi appeared in court to stand trial for a long list of spurious <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57424594">charges</a>, including corruption, inciting public unrest, and violating Myanmar’s official secrets act.
All told, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/myanmar-coup-suu-kyi-trial/2021/06/14/cae4f626-c99a-11eb-8708-64991f2acf28_story.html">according to the Washington Post</a>, Suu Kyi faces seven charges and up to 15 years in prison — which could well amount to a life sentence for the leader, who marked her 76th <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/flower-protests-myanmar-suu-kyis-76th-birthday-2021-06-19/">birthday</a> in confinement on Saturday.
<figure class="e-image"><picture class="c-picture" data-cid="site/picture_element-1624255030_9510_4010" data-cdata='{"asset_id":22670265,"ratio":"*"}'><source srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/i_6mNbG85qvB0leWhiCLfBbeb-c=/0x0:4429x2953/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gAuyWWqarI1hWpsSkE6Q7si8NzY=/0x0:4429x2953/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TebpPD9wN-B5tORp5ZkSHSLn-uY=/0x0:4429x2953/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tMU4DVg1JG0ONi3r-rKM44lObBY=/0x0:4429x2953/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Sqi9KJE3vKRAKVs2jPGOBhWKELA=/0x0:4429x2953/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WH_lvbqfhvfOID3h0_JjaSWb_yg=/0x0:4429x2953/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/4xgdpt1Sev7zcexpoQ2hUzSvXAs=/0x0:4429x2953/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QwOIXNISzPd8Ag56hpkrfHrZ4gI=/0x0:4429x2953/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_k3tryigQiqGEvdg79GevtGSuQE=/0x0:4429x2953/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1920w" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" type="image/webp" /> <img alt="TOPSHOT-MYANMAR-POLITICS-MILITARY" data-upload-width="4429" sizes="(min-width: 1221px) 846px, (min-width: 880px) calc(100vw - 334px), 100vw" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dk0Ch94ltSdCJdA17QROeerTaA0=/0x0:4429x2953/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg" srcset="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sbvLpSsm_CsDT1iHHT9ZzSkb8hM=/0x0:4429x2953/320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xovakH-FNLvKQVChcB9byTn1hB0=/0x0:4429x2953/520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/owAofNFy8M_-KevfGyLXxT3mFH0=/0x0:4429x2953/720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kvvxCamCvBW3o3dPw4QQR_7D7ok=/0x0:4429x2953/920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l7G_pCH1CMC6fqabcDsje3IbtcM=/0x0:4429x2953/1120x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0lBMtDQKXnGAxM0UlUFtnQQEQgQ=/0x0:4429x2953/1320x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_XxhKer8TAtG_U94uKxN5qOiHa8=/0x0:4429x2953/1520x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1520w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6P9veN64ohmQkNvUXIV9GQncJ9g=/0x0:4429x2953/1720x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1720w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IYbRpMAvCk8MeKjUkTJXq7pSA68=/0x0:4429x2953/1920x0/filters:focal(0x0:4429x2953):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22670265/1231058962.jpg 1920w" /></picture>
<figcaption>Protesters stand with a huge banner of detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they take part in a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb. 9, 2021.</figcaption>
<cite>SAI AUNG MAIN/AFP via Getty Images</cite></figure>
The trial and charges alike are considered by regional experts to be a political exercise rather than a judicial one, and the outcome is all but preordained with Myanmar still under military rule.
“With the restrictions on access to her lawyers and the case being heard in front of a court that is wholly beholden to the military junta, there is little likelihood she will receive a fair trial,” Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said, according to the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/myanmar-coup-suu-kyi-trial/2021/06/14/cae4f626-c99a-11eb-8708-64991f2acf28_story.html">Washington Post</a>.
Suu Kyi isn’t the only political prisoner facing a show trial in Myanmar: The junta is also holding deposed president <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-politics-charges/myanmars-ousted-president-faces-two-new-charges-lawyer-idUSKCN2AV09K">Win Myint</a> on a range of politicized charges, and protesters are being <a href="https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/more-than-30-youth-sentenced-in-closed-court-hearing-inside-myeik-prison">arrested</a>, tortured, and sentenced to prison en masse.
<a href="https://www.myanmar-now.org/en/news/more-than-30-youth-sentenced-in-closed-court-hearing-inside-myeik-prison">According to Myanmar Now</a>, a local news outlet, 32 protesters were sentenced to prison terms of at least two years earlier this month on charges of incitement and unlawful assembly. And <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/17/asia/danny-fenster-myanmar-detention-intl/index.html">an American, Danny Fenster</a>, is among dozens of journalists facing charges of inciting fear or spreading “false news;” Fenster was detained three weeks ago en route to visit family in the US.
Despite the junta’s best efforts, however, there is still a vibrant opposition movement in Myanmar — one that has <a href="https://www.vox.com/22412118/myanmar-coup-protesters-rohingya">welded together</a> a broad, but potentially fragile, alliance of ethnic groups against a common enemy.
As Kirby <a href="https://www.vox.com/22412118/myanmar-coup-protesters-rohingya">explained for Vox</a>, the pro-democracy protests have been “part awakening, part atonement” for some protesters, particularly in regard to the military’s campaign of genocide against the Rohingya:
<blockquote>
[Activist Wai Hnin Pwint Thon]’s experience is an extreme example of the kind of revelation that has happened among many young protesters, especially among the majority Bamar ethnic group. “Some of us were brainwashed,” Wathone, the protester in Yangon, said. “But now everyone understands what the Rohingya feel, what the ethnic groups feel.”
</blockquote>
Now, with armed ethnic factions supporting members of the <a href="https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/how-myanmars-civil-disobedience-movement-pushing-back-against-coup">Civil Disobedience Movement</a>, the conflict in Myanmar could soon enter a new phase. Some protesters Kirby spoke to admitted that “nonviolence is maybe not working. So we need some armed resistance.”
Already, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-military-fails-quell-protests-four-months-after-coup-2021-06-01/">according to Reuters</a>, the junta is fighting on “multiple fronts in border regions” against <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57506196">local insurgents</a>, and some young pro-democracy protesters are leaving Myanmar’s urban centers to <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2021-06-02/souring-peace-marches-myanmar-protesters-seek-weapons">join</a> the anti-regime guerrillas.
“The brutality of the Burma military is even worse,” civil society activist Naw Wah Ku Shee <a href="https://www.vox.com/22412118/myanmar-coup-protesters-rohingya">told</a> Kirby of the newfound cohesion among ethnic groups. “Our first priority is to end this military dictatorship, which is why we need to work together.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/6/20/22542370/myanmar-coup-united-nations-un">https://www.vox.com/2021/6/20/22542370/myanmar-coup-united-nations-un</a>

vox The UN has condemned Myanmar’s military coup. Will that matter?

More than four months after the military seized power in Myanmar, the United Nations General Assembly took the rare step on Friday of votin...

Times Square Celebrates International Yoga Day With Over 3,000 Yogis

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Times Square Celebrates International Yoga Day With Over 3,000 Yogis" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-06/kgg3jgsc_timessquareyogatwitter650_625x300_21_June_21.jpg" title="Times Square Celebrates International Yoga Day With Over 3,000 Yogis" /></div>
Yoga Day: The registration for the event is full, according to the Times Square website.
</div>
New York:
The seventh International Yoga Day was celebrated at the iconic Times Square in New York on Sunday. The day-long yoga festival with the theme of "Solstice in Times Square 2021" was attended by more than 3,000 people where yogis, with their yoga mats and flexible bodies, filled Times Square to mark the start of summer.
Consulate General of India, New York partnered with the Times Square Alliance to host the Yoga celebrations under the theme "Solstice for Times Square 2021".
"As we celebrate yoga at the iconic Times Square - at the crossroads of the world, let us remind ourselves of the truly global embrace of yoga. Yoga was born in India but is part of global heritage today. Yoga is about health, well-being and about living in harmony with nature. Yoga is a way of life and we must try to practice it in its entirety, for a peaceful society and for a greener planet," Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General, told ANI.
"It was an incredible experience leading yoga, pranayama and meditation at Times Square NYC. Seeing thousands of yogis experience stillness amidst the chaos of the city that never stops," said Ruchika Lal who participated in the event.
In keeping with this year's global theme - Yoga for Wellness - as coined by the United Nations (UN), the event showcased holistic health, Ayurvedic and nature-based wellness products from Tribes India (TRIFED) and other Indian companies. The stalls attracted a large number of visitors, eager to learn about the uniqueness of Indian Tribal, Ayurvedic and natural products.
The day-long yoga celebration offered experienced yogis and first-timers alike the chance to bring a yoga mat to the iconic public space and participate in a free yoga class. The Consulate General handed a bag of products from TRIFED and some wellness products produced in India as well.
"I love to practice Yoga at Times Square every year on Solstice. I want to thank the Consulate for this gift," a participant said.
The registration for the event is full, according to the Times Square website. The event could also be attended virtually by watching a class over a live stream. The Times Square yoga ran from 7:30 am until 8:30 pm, broken into nine separate classes, according to a schedule.
The International Day of Yoga was also celebrated in New Jersey today at the Liberty State Park with the Statue of Liberty in the background. This was a community-led event anchored by the Federation of Indian Associations. Famous yoga instructor Thara Natalie led the yoga session.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/international-yoga-day-june-21-times-square-celebrates-yoga-day-with-over-3-000-yogis-2468504">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/international-yoga-day-june-21-times-square-celebrates-yoga-day-with-over-3-000-yogis-2468504</a>

news world Times Square Celebrates International Yoga Day With Over 3,000 Yogis

Yoga Day: The registration for the event is full, according to the Times Square website. New York: The seventh International Yoga Day w...

Man Killed In "Tragic Accident" As Truck Hits US Pride Parade

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Florida, US: Police said the truck's driver was a participant in the Pride Parade.
</div>
Washington:
One man was killed and another injured in what US authorities said Sunday was a "tragic accident" at a Pride parade in Florida where a pickup truck driver unintentionally accelerated, striking pedestrians.
The incident happened at the start of the Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade and festival on Saturday, an LGBTQ celebration in a town near Fort Lauderdale in the southern US state, causing initial confusion whether the accident was part of a deliberate attack.
Fort Lauderdale Police announced Sunday that the 77-year-old driver was a participant in the festivities who had been selected to drive the lead vehicle due to "ailments preventing him from walking during the duration."
The white pickup had begun to move forward anticipating the start of the parade when it "accelerated unexpectedly, striking two pedestrians" before crashing into the fence of a nearby business, the police said in a statement.
All three men were members of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, the police said, adding that the driver was cooperative with authorities.
The two adult men were transported to a medical centre where one later died, according to the statement. The other remains hospitalised but is expected to survive.
"Today we know yesterday's incident was a tragic accident, and not a criminal act directed at anyone, or any group of individuals," the Walton Manors Police Department said in a separate statement.
Justin Knight, president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, called the incident an "unfortunate accident."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the unfortunate accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started," he said in a statement Saturday.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade, initially told a local broadcaster he thought the crash was "deliberate."
In the immediate aftermath, he called it "a terrorist attack against the LGBT community" and claimed the truck had targeted the car of a Democratic congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz -- who was in a convertible waiting to take part in the procession -- but narrowly missed her.
Trantalis explained on Sunday that he had initially "feared it could be intentional based on what I saw from mere feet away."
"As the facts continue to be pieced together, a picture is emerging of an accident," he said.
Wasserman Schultz said on Twitter that she was "heartbroken" by what had taken place.
"I am deeply shaken and devastated that a life was lost," she said.
"My staff, volunteers and I are thankfully safe," she added.
The Wilton Manors Police Department tweeted Saturday night after the crash that the public was not in danger.
June is Pride Month, which commemorates the 1969 Stonewall riots sparked by repeated police raids on a popular gay bar in New York. The demonstrations proved to be a turning point in the LGBTQ community's struggle for civil rights.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/florida-man-killed-in-tragic-accident-as-truck-hits-us-pride-parade-2468497">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/florida-man-killed-in-tragic-accident-as-truck-hits-us-pride-parade-2468497</a>

news world Man Killed In "Tragic Accident" As Truck Hits US Pride Parade

Florida, US: Police said the truck's driver was a participant in the Pride Parade. Washington: One man was killed and another injur...

Saudi Says US Downsizing Military Assets Won't Affect Its Defence Capabilites

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Saudi Says US Downsizing Military Assets Won't Affect Its Defence Capabilites" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-03/q4qhm4c4_saudi-arabia-650_625x300_20_March_20.jpg" title="Saudi Says US Downsizing Military Assets Won't Affect Its Defence Capabilites" /></div>
A coalition spokesperson said the US drawdown will not affect Saudi air defences (Representational).
</div>
Abha (Saudi Arabia):
A downsizing of US military assets in Saudi Arabia will not affect its defence capabilities, the Riyadh-led coalition said Sunday, after it intercepted the largest number of Yemeni rebel drones in a single day.
Washington on Friday said it was cutting the number of troops and air defence units deployed to the Middle East, including Patriot batteries and an anti-missile system, called THAAD, from Saudi Arabia.
"This will not affect the Saudi air defences," coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki told reporters. "We have a strong understanding with... our allies about the threat in the region. We do have the capability to defend our country."
The US drawdown comes as President Joe Biden's administration seeks to ease tensions with Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch-foe, after they heated up in 2019 under his predecessor Donald Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran.
Maliki did not disclose how many Patriots the kingdom currently has.
In April, Greece said it will lend a Patriot battery to Saudi Arabia to protect its critical energy infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia, which has led a military coalition against Yemen's Huthis since 2015, relies heavily on US-made Patriots to intercept missiles and drones fired at the kingdom on a near daily basis by the Iran-aligned rebels.
Saudi air defences intercepted a total of 17 Huthi drones on Saturday, the highest in a single day since the conflict began, Maliki said.
Earlier this month, a bomb-laden drone launched by the Huthis crashed into a girls' school in southern Asir province, Saudi state media said. No injuries were reported in the strike.
But during a media tour Sunday of the school, whose shrapnel-scarred roof was littered with glass, ball bearings and twisted metal, officials said some terrified parents were refusing to send their children to attend classes.
Saudi Arabia "can't cover the entire country with Patriots", a local official said.
"There is no military target here... it's clear the Huthis are deliberately hitting civilians."
The escalation comes as a diplomatic push by the United Nations, the United States and regional countries to secure a ceasefire in Yemen after more than six years of devastating conflict have failed.
The outgoing UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths on Tuesday told the Security Council his own efforts over the past three years to end the war had been "in vain".
Yemen has been devastated by a civil war between the Saudi-backed government and the Iran-backed Huthis since 2014, and millions of civilians are on the brink of famine, according to the UN.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/saudi-arabia-says-us-downsizing-military-assets-wont-affect-its-defence-capabilites-2468483">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/saudi-arabia-says-us-downsizing-military-assets-wont-affect-its-defence-capabilites-2468483</a>

news world Saudi Says US Downsizing Military Assets Won't Affect Its Defence Capabilites

A coalition spokesperson said the US drawdown will not affect Saudi air defences (Representational). Abha (Saudi Arabia): A downsizing ...

"Interesting Signal": US On Comments By Kim Jong Un

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Interesting Signal': US On Comments By Kim Jong Un" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2020-08/8clamljo_kim-jong-un-afp_625x300_19_August_20.jpg" title="'Interesting Signal': US On Comments By Kim Jong Un" /></div>
Kim Jong Un ordered his government to prepare for "both dialogue and confrontation" with US
</div>
The United States on Sunday said it saw as an "interesting signal" North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's comments this week saying he is ready for "dialogue and confrontation" but that Washington was still waiting for direct communication from Pyongyang to start talks towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"His comments this week we regard as an interesting signal and we will wait to see whether they are followed up with any kind of more direct communication to us about a potential path forward," U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in an ABC News interview.
"What President Biden has communicated is that the United States is prepared to engage in principled negotiations with North Korea to deal with the challenge of North Korea's nuclear program towards the ultimate objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Sullivan said in the interview.
Kim ordered his government to prepare for "both dialogue and confrontation" with the United States, state news media reported on Friday, in his first reaction to the Biden administration's new North Korea policy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/interesting-signal-us-on-comments-by-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-2468459">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/interesting-signal-us-on-comments-by-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-2468459</a>

news world "Interesting Signal": US On Comments By Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un ordered his government to prepare for "both dialogue and confrontation" with US The United States on Sunday said i...

Nine Children Among 10 Dead In US' Alabama Multi-Vehicle Crash

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Nine Children Among 10 Dead In US' Alabama Multi-Vehicle Crash" src="https://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2017-06/police-line-do-not-cross_650x400_41498536630.jpg" title="Nine Children Among 10 Dead In US' Alabama Multi-Vehicle Crash" /></div>
The van in the accident was one of two bringing children, none older than 17. (Representational)
</div>
Miami:
Nine children and an adult were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on an Alabama highway as heavy storms lashed the southeastern US state, a county coroner confirmed Sunday.
Saturday's crash on an interstate highway near the city of Greenville involved at least 15 vehicles and may have been caused by aquaplaning under heavy rains, Butler County coroner Wayne Garlock told AFP.
The dead included a father and daughter in an SUV, and eight occupants of a van carrying children from a county-run "girls ranch" that included foster children, local media reported.
"This was probably the most horrific accident in Butler County history," Sheriff Danny Bond told the al.com website.
He said at least two of the vehicles involved were 18-wheel trucks, and that four or five other people had suffered nonfatal injuries.
Northbound and southbound traffic on busy Interstate 65 were halted for hours, but both had reopened by Sunday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency tweeted.
"Our hearts are heavy today. Our ranch has suffered great loss... Please send prayers our way," tweeted the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch.
The van in the accident was one of two bringing children, none older than 17, back from a Girls Ranch outing to nearby Gulf Shores, al.com reported. The other van was unscathed.
The girls ranch serves as a foster home for children abandoned or from abusive families.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nine-children-among-10-dead-in-us-alabama-multi-vehicle-crash-2468416">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nine-children-among-10-dead-in-us-alabama-multi-vehicle-crash-2468416</a>

news world Nine Children Among 10 Dead In US' Alabama Multi-Vehicle Crash

The van in the accident was one of two bringing children, none older than 17. (Representational) Miami: Nine children and an adult were...