Endgame in Myanmar to Reset Political Landscape

Despite widespread media coverage and vocal support given to the protesters against the coup, it is speculated that the endgame will be in favor of the junta. By Lee Kok Leong, executive editor, Maritime Fairtrade

Myanmar has been besieged by protests and strikes, with casualties on both sides, since the army detained the NLD civilian government on 1 February and installed a new loyalist government.

The army stepped in to oust the government, saying that it had repeatedly ignored complaints of fraud in an 8 November general election, which was won overwhelmingly by NLD.

This claim may be true, but at its heart, the unraveling of the army-civilian partnership boils down to the competing political ambition of two key players. Both NLD’s Aung San Suu Kyi and military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing want to be president.

With constant news that the pro-NLD factions are holding strikes and paralyzing the new government to force a reversal of the coup, and the much-touted vocal condemnation and sanctions imposed by western countries, it seems that the junta is losing ground.

As the political machination is not open and transparent, and the military’s inner workings are notoriously opaque, assessing the situation and determining the outcome is difficult. However…