An aerobics instructor in Myanmar, oblivious to the military coup unfolding behind her, continued filming her fitness dance routine on Monday. The masked instructor can be seen completing the workout routine as a convoy of SUVs sped past behind her to uproot Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The video featuring the instructor who was identified as Khing Hnin Wai by The Guardian has garnered over 11 million views.
Una mujer hizo su clase de aerobic sin darse cuenta de que estaban dando el golpe de Estado en Myanmar. Y pues puede verse como el convoy de militares llega al parlamento. pic.twitter.com/fmFUzhawRe
— Àngel Marrades (@VonKoutli) February 1, 2021
Wai doesn’t seem to notice the convoy behind her or the sirens as she is engrossed in her workout routine. At one point in the video, people can be seen rushing to open the barricades in front of the parliament building and let the vehicles in at the country’s capital of Naypyidaw.
On Monday, in the powerful Myanmar military took over the country in a coup, with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi detained under house arrest. The military, which ruled the country for over five decades, holds 25 per cent of the total seats under the 2008 military-drafted constitution and several key ministerial positions are also reserved for military appointees.
The military has promised to hold elections next year. Suu Kyi has become a controversial figure of late. In December 2019, addressing judges in The Hague, Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi admitted that the army may have used “disproportionate force” in a military crackdown in 2017 that caused thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee Myanmar, but said that did not prove it was trying to wipe out Rohingya Muslims. Myanmar’s neighbouring country of Bangladesh had accused Myanmar of violating the 1948 genocide pact.
One user commented, “2020 was a rough year for many, but by 2021 we learned to mask up, ignore the ongoing coup attempts, and get on with our lives,” as they shared the video. Another user wrote, “gives a whole new meaning to "doesn't matter if you get the steps right, the important thing is to just keep moving!"
