International solidarity with Myanmar people on 5th anniversary of 2021 military coup

The E.U., Canada, Switzerland and Australia issued statements on Feb. 1, condemning the fifth anniversary of the 2021 military coup in Myanmar and calling on the military to “end all forms of violence” against its own citizens.

“The Myanmar military ousted the democratically elected government, and seized power. One of the biggest humanitarian and human rights crises in the world has emerged in Myanmar since the coup,” Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand stated in a press release on Feb. 1.

Canada, along with Switzerland and Australia, called on the international community to unite in order to assist a “peaceful democratic future for the people of Myanmar.”

The three nations also requested that the Myanmar military release all 22,000 political prisoners and hold genuine dialogue with pro-democracy opposition groups led by the National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic nationality organizations.

The E.U. wants Myanmar to adhere to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five Point Consensus, which was agreed to by regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021, but not implemented upon his return to Naypyidaw.

Canada, Switzerland, and Australia claimed that military elections in Myanmar, which ended on Jan. 25, were not free and fair.

The military-proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won a majority of seats in Myanmar’s Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, or bicameral legislature, and will form the next government in Naypyidaw, according to the results released by the military’s Union Election Commission (UEC).