Myanmar’s nominal transition to democracy ended abruptly on Feb. 1

when the military arrested the civilian government and seized power.

This coup was the most egregious among the three in the country’s modern history.

The military claimed it was acting in response to election irregularities, but the charges it later imposed on elected leaders

— the country’s civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, was accused of illegally importing walkie-talkies, for example — were preposterous.

Of course, the Burmese military leaders’ actual goal is to nullify the results of the November 2020 democratic elections.