Overseas Secretary Yvette Cooper has mentioned the individuals of Myanmar “face a deepening disaster”, 5 years after the nation’s democratically-elected authorities was overthrown by the army.
The coup, which deposed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi because the nation’s elected chief, happened on 1 February 2021.
It meant “the need of the individuals was overturned and their political freedom taken away”, Ms Cooper mentioned in a press release on Sunday, 5 years on from the occasion.
“Amidst this disaster, the UK stays dedicated to supporting a steady future for the individuals of Myanmar,” the assertion mentioned.
“Previously yr we now have supported over 1.4 million individuals with humanitarian help and supplied 1.3 million individuals with important well being companies. We’ll proceed to face by these most affected.
“But situations on the bottom stay dire. Half of Myanmar’s kids are actually out of faculty, whereas girls and ladies face persistent violence.
“Crimes that have an effect on us within the UK, like drug manufacturing and cyber scams, have flourished. The current military-run elections have been neither free nor honest.
“We proceed to induce all events to guard civilians.”
The international secretary concluded: “We name on the army regime to finish its airstrikes; to permit unhindered humanitarian entry; to launch all political prisoners together with Aung San Suu Kyi; and to interact in real dialogue in the direction of a democratic and peaceable transition.
“Immediately and at all times, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the individuals of Myanmar.”
The funeral of pupil protester Wutt Yee Aung, who died in jail in July 2025, in an undisclosed location, in Myanmar. Pic: Reuters
Myanmar, also referred to as Burma, has been in political turmoil because the coup, with the crushing of pro-democracy protests sparking a nationwide riot.
Round 3.6 million individuals have been displaced, in accordance with the UN.
On Friday, Myanmar state media reported the nation’s military-backed occasion had accomplished a sweeping victory within the nation’s three-phase normal election, following the ultimate spherical of voting in late January.
A brand new president is predicted to be elected in March.
Massive elements of the nation’s inhabitants, together with minorities such because the ethnic Rohingya, weren’t allowed to vote on the grounds that they weren’t residents or have been abroad after being displaced, the UN’s human rights workplace mentioned.
Not less than 170 individuals have been killed by airstrikes in the course of the election interval, which started with the primary poll on 28 December, and about 400 arrested.
Learn extra:
Landmark Rohingya genocide case defined
Myanmar accused of genocide
Inside Myanmar’s secret jungle hospital
“Many individuals selected both to vote or to not vote purely out of worry,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk mentioned.
Ms Suu Kyi’s Nationwide League for Democracy was dissolved together with dozens of different events, and a few others declined to participate, drawing condemnation from critics who say the method was designed to entrench army rule.
Beneath Myanmar’s political system, the army can be assured 25% of parliamentary seats, guaranteeing continued
management even after energy is formally transferred to a civilian-led administration.
