African states that are ruptured by ethnic conflict and ideological differences, among many other factors, have continuously proven incapable of developing strengthened and fortified democratic institutions.
Read MoreMyanmar’s military vowed to crack down on opposition forces as the nation celebrated its Armed Forces Day, reports Al Jazeera. The leader of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, claimed that his forces would ‘annihilate’ civilian opposition groups and urged ethnic minorities away from supporting militia groups that oppose the Tatmadaw, the country’s military-led government. However, one civilian resistance group, the National Unity Government, prompted people to take part in a ‘Power Strike’, turning off their lights and TVs during the parade broadcast ABC News reports.
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According to Reuters, the attempted coup that took place on February 1 in Guinea-Bissau is the latest of more than a dozen coup attempts the West African nation has faced since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. While President Umaro Sissico Embalo and his entire cabinet survived, Al Jazeera reports the coup resulted in at least 11 fatalities.
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February 1marked one year since Myanmar’s military staged a coup to oust democratically elected leader Aung Sann Suu Kyi, less than a decade after its transition into a democratic nation. The U.N. Security Council released a statement regarding the one-year anniversary, calling for those still detained to abe released, including the country’s former president Win Myint, reports U.S. News. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and long-time supporter of democracy, remains detained as well.
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Myanmar’s military crackdown on protestors is sending shock waves throughout the Asian nation. The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar urged the UN Security Council to consider “potential significant action” in Myanmar to prevent the country from falling into a civil war. The organization also called for a complete reversal of the February 1 military coup and the restoration of the country’s democratically elected government. CNN reports that at least 550 people have been killed by Myanmar’s military in the aftermath of the coup.
Read MoreClaims of sedition have caused a rift in the Jordanian royal family this past week, as multiple high-ranking officials were arrested in a rare semblance of instability within the levant kingdom. However, according to Al Jazeera, on April 7, Jordanian King Abdullah II addressed the situation, stating the ‘sedition’ which caused him ‘pain and anger’ has been dealt with.
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Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and BBC journalist Aung Thura, among other media personnel, were released recently from detention in Myanmar. Their release comes after mounting pressure from the international community to release all journalists and cease the media crackdown. Since the February 1 coup that saw the overthrow of its democratically-elected government, a military government controls Myanmar which has cracked down on independent press coverage of protests resisting the new government, ABC News reports.
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Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets throughout Myanmar following a military coup that saw the country’s democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi removed from office and arrested. After seizing control of the government in Myanmar on February 1, the military, led by commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlain, has announced a year-long state of emergency. Citizens of Myanmar have expressed displeasure and disappointment over the coup, which ended Myanmar’s decade-long transition into democracy.
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