RESEARCH ESSAY

[Adeline Hyansalem Wicaksono/ Faculty of Engineering/ 2021]

Military Coup of Myanmar

On Monday, February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military ousted the government due to
allegations that members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party rigged elections in
November 2020. The President of Myanmar, namely Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi as
government advisors and Myanmar democracy leaders, was under confinement by the Myanmar
military. The military wants to maintain power even though people are not giving votes to the
military in the election. They declared that they won and formed the government. It can be said
that the military provides space for democracy only on paper just as a cover to show that they
uphold democracy, when in fact they don’t. Millions of people poured onto the streets against the
military coup. Along with activists, civil servants, bank workers, doctors, and day laborers joined
the military boycott extended for months despite a formidable threat from the military.

The effects of the military coup in Myanmar, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic,
have undermined Myanmar's progressed over the years. The UNDP report said 12 people could
potentially experience dire economic hardship as business activity shuts between military
pressure from the Junta Military and the Movement for mass civil disobedience. This results in
reduced access to food, basic needs, and social protection. The military also severely restricts
internet access. The conditions could deteriorate by early 2022 to the amount of poverty in
Myanmar in 2005 when half of Myanmar's population was poor (UNDP, 2021).

The stock market reacted negatively to this coup. The author finds some of the impacts
of the 2020 Myanmar election and also the 2021 military coup. Myanmar is a low-middle-
income country but Myanmar's economy is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world
(World Bank, 2021). The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates were 5.9%, 6.8%, and
6.5% in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively (Trade Economy, 2021). While world GDP fell by
4.36% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic (Plecher, 2021), Myanmar's growth rate is
2%. But, Myanmar's stock market, the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX), is still young and very
small. Moreover, the 2020 general election and the 2021 military coup occurred during the
COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, the stock market has undergone structural changes
(Khanthavit, 2021a).

The 2020 Myanmar election and the 2021 military coup have attracted worldwide
attention (Marston, 2021). This leads to nationwide protests demanding the government's
restoration of democracy and justice. Numerous countries have condemned the military takeover
and subsequent crackdown. As for the US, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused
the security forces of a "reign of terror". The US, UK, and European Union have all responded
with sanctions on military officials. China responded with blocking a UN Security Council
statement about the coup but has backed calls for the release of Ms. Suu Kyi and a return to
democratic norms (Cuddy, 2021). The Southeast Asian countries decided to not interfere because
that’s Myanmar’s domestic issue.

Bhattacharya, S., & Raghuvanshil, S. (2021). Political

Turmoil, Leadership Fiasco and Economic Fallout of Myanmar Crisis in 2021. International Journal of

Research in Engineering, Science and Management, 4(3), 30-32.

UNDP report, COVID-19, Coup d’Etat and Poverty: Compounding Negative Shocks and their Impact on
Human Development in Myanmar (April 2021).

World Bank. (2021). The World Bank in Myanmar. Washington, DC: World Bank. Retrieved
from http://ida.worldbank.org/results/myanmar#:~:text=Myanmar%2C%20a%20lower%2
Dmiddle%20income,and%20Pacific%20region%20and%20globally. 
Trading Economics. (2021). Myanmar GDP annual growth rate. Retrieved from
https://tradingeconomics.com/myanmar/gdp-growth-annual
Plecher, H. (2021, February 10). Growth of the global gross domestic product (GDP) 2025.
Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/273951/growth-of-the-globalgross-domestic-
product-gdp/
Khanthavit, A. (2021a). Measuring COVID-19 effects on world and national stock market
returns. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8 (2), 1‒13. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no2.0001
Marston, H. (2021, February 3). Myanmar grabs global attention, again. East Asia Forum.
Retrieved from https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/02/03/myanmar-grabs-globalattention-
again/
Cuddy, A. (2021). Myanmar coup: What is happening and why?. BBC news.)