UPI
Two years after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup, a United Nations envoy called for the international community to deny the legitimacy of the ruling junta and to reject upcoming “sham” elections.
On Feb. 1, 2021, the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and installed a ruling regime known as the State Administrative Council, which has brutally suppressed widespread public resistance.
“The unrelenting violence that [the junta] unleashed on the people of Myanmar has created a widespread human rights, humanitarian and economic crisis and galvanized nationwide opposition,” U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews said in a statement released Tuesday.
“The conclusion is clear — the SAC’s military coup was illegal and its claim as Myanmar’s government is illegitimate and a new, coordinated international response to the crisis is imperative,” Andrews said.
