FEATURING EDITH MIRANTE – The Biden administration has just designated the military takeover of government in Myanmar to be a coup d’etat—a move that automatically triggers a freeze of U.S. aid to the tiny Asian nation. Myanmar, historically known as Burma, had enjoyed a brief period of democratic rule albeit marred by a genocidal drive against its Rohingya minority. The once embattled leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been under house arrest for years, was then freed, and went on to become a leader in the new government. She now faces detention once more as the military crafted a formal charge against her. This time around Suu Kyi does not have the international standing she once did. What has happened in Myanmar to spark this latest military takeover? 

Edith Mirante, director of Project Maje, an informational project on Myanmar’s human rights & environmental issues, and author of 2 books on Burma.