Staff at several government hospitals across Myanmar stopped work on Wednesday or wore red ribbons to show protest against the military coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Monday saw a military coup, where Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted by military leaders, saying the elections held in November reeked of fraud. The act drew condemnation from United States and other Western nations including Britain and Switzerland.
The civil disobedience campaign is one of the first signs of public opposition to the military takeover on Monday, which drew condemnation from the United States and other Western countries at a G7 meeting. Doctors, instead of working at hospitals are treating patients at their homes, an AFP report reads.
The newly formed Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement said doctors at 70 hospitals and medical departments in 30 towns— it is the first signs of public opposition to the military takeover. The Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement has accused the military of putting its interests above people’s hardships. Myanmar has reported over 3,100 deaths due to the coronavirus, one of the highest tolls in South East Asia.
Army Chief General Min Aung Hlaing, in the meantime, said the coup was inevitable.
"After many requests, this way was inevitable for the country and that's why we had to choose it," he said, according to a speech posted on Hlaing’s official Facebook page.
As Suu Kyi led the country’s democratic movement, she endured house arrest for about 15 years between 1989 and 2010. The military rule that began in 1962, was taken over in 2015, when Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy came to power.
