Man Aung Hlaing: Who are the military leaders who overthrew the Aung San Suu Kyi government and seized power in Myanmar?
Man Aung Hlaing gradually rose to the position of Commander-in-Chief in Myanmar's powerful army, the Tatamadova, and overthrew the elected government on February 1.
This did not happen suddenly. Even before the overthrow of the government, he had a significant political influence in the country for the past decade thanks to his position.A former law student at the University of Rangoon was admitted to the Defense Services Academy for the third time after failing twice.
This seemingly insignificant and unimpressive figure continued to receive timely promotions and was promoted to the rank of Commanding Officer of the Bureau of Special Operations in 2009.
He maintained a strong grip on Myanmar's military with great success, while the country, freed from the shadow of military dictatorship, continued to move towards democracy, and at the same time internationally due to atrocities against minorities and the role of the military. Myanmar has been strongly condemned.
Myanmar's military is the second largest in Southeast Asia. But after nearly ten years of democracy, Myanmar has once again returned to dictatorship led by Man Aung. It is now up to them to expand their powers and determine the future of the country.
Troops led by General Man Aung Hlaing faced numerous charges of murder and rape, but he continued to advance in the military and was promoted to Joint Chiefs of Staff in August 2010.
Less than a year later, in March 2011, he was promoted to several senior officers and became Commander-in-Chief instead of Than Shaw.
When Man Aung Hlaing was appointed army chief, a well-known blogger and his childhood friend, Hila O, wrote of him being an experienced soldier in Myanmar's brutal army that went through a furnace of war. He is also a noble man and a scholar.
Political influence and massacre:After decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar established democracy in 2011, but the country's military supremacy and political influence have not diminished.
The formation of a government led by the country's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has not diminished the army chief's involvement in politics and increased his rhetoric on social media.
When Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy government was formed in 2016, the army chief changed his mind and began working with the government.
MiG enlisted in the Army as a 64-year-old General Healing Cadet and has spent his entire life in the Army ever since.
Seize power:
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory in the country's general election last November, but the military-backed USDP refused to recognize the results.
The USDP has accused the election of widespread fraud. The country's election commission dismissed all allegations of fraud ahead of a February 1 session of the new parliament, which was to ratify the newly elected government.
He appeared with Aung San Suu Kyi at public events. Army chief Aung San Suu Kyi seemed happy to work with him.
Despite the change, he maintained 25 percent of the military's seats in the country's parliament and the appointment of serving military officers to key positions in the federal cabinet related to security, as well as the military by Aung San Suu Kyi's government. Attempts to amend the constitution to reduce its powers and role in political affairs have also been hampered.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled the country in 2016 and 2017 after military operations against Rohingya Muslims intensified in the country's Rakhine state.
Myanmar's military has been widely condemned internationally for the massacre in the country, and in August 2018 the UN Human Rights Council stated that "Myanmar's top military officials, and in particular Army Chief Man Aung San Suu Kyi, Healing should be investigated for the massacre in the northern state of Rakhine, and in addition to Rakhine, the states of Shan and Kachin should be tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes.Following the council's statement, Facebook blocked the accounts of Myanmar's army chief and the individuals and entities associated with him who he said had committed serious human rights violations in the country.
The United States twice imposed sanctions on him in 2019 for "serious genocide and serious human rights violations" and in July 2020 the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on him.There was a standoff between the army and the government, and speculation about a military coup began.On January 27, Man Aung Hlaing threatened to suspend the country's constitution if it was not upheld, as had been the case in previous military coups in 1962 and 1988.On January 30, his office changed its position, explaining that military officials' statements about the suspension of the constitution had been misinterpreted by the media.But on February 1, the military arrested State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Wen Minet and several other leading political leaders, declaring a year-long state of emergency in the country.
As army chief, Man Aung Hlaing has seized all government powers during the state of emergency and has made it a priority to investigate allegations of electoral irregularities.A meeting of the National Defense and Security Council, chaired by the army chief, said allegations of electoral fraud would be investigated and new elections would be held in the country. The announcement virtually negates the NLD's victory in the last election.Man Aung Hlaing was due to retire at the age of 65 in July this year, but he seized power and extended his one-year term by imposing a one-year state of emergency in the country. Has taken
Myanmar faces an uncertain future with the move, but Man Aung Hlaing has consolidated his position by seizing power.