(Yangon) – A woman filming a fitness video unknowingly captured the insane moment an army convoy stormed towards a parliament to stage a coup in Myanmar.
Click here to see the video https://youtu.be/BGroxCBcuvA
Tensions in Myanmar are at an all-time high, after the country’s military seized power in an early morning coup on Monday, detaining democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government members.
Ms Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), secured a landslide victory in the country’s November election, winning more than 80 per cent of the votes.
The military coup came as the country’s new parliament was set to meet for the first time, with the generals justifying the power grab by alleging widespread election fraud, resulting in the army imposing a one-year state of emergency.
The moment a military convoy rushed towards a road of soldiers who had set up a roadblock to Myanmar’s parliament was unknowingly captured on camera by a PE teacher.
The teacher can be seen dancing to upbeat techno music, seemingly unaware of the military takeover in motion directly behind her.
The footage was originally posted to Facebook by Khing Hnin Wai, a PE teacher at Ministry of Education who regularly posts workout videos from the same location in Naypyidaw. The video has been verified by Storyful.
The footage of the coup astounded social media viewers, after phone and internet in the capital Naypyidaw and Yangon were disrupted and state TV went off air after leaders from the NLD party were detained.
Troops lined the streets in the commercial centre of Yangon as residents rushed to stock up on supplies from markets and others linked up at ATMs to withdraw cash, before banks suspended services due to poor internet connection.
The coup has sparked international outrage, with multiple world leaders condemning the Myanmar military and calling for the release of Ms Suu Kyi and the other detained officials.
CITIZENS URGED TO PROTEST
Ms Suu Kyi has not been heard from or seen since the military took control but a statement she wrote in anticipation of the coup was published on a verified NLD Facebook page.
“The actions of the military are actions to put the country back under a dictatorship,” read the statement, which carried Ms Suu Kyi’s name but not her signature.
“I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military.”
The statement was issued by the party chairman Win Htein, who in a handwritten note at the bottom stressed it was authentic and reflected Ms Suu Kyi’s wishes.
“On my life I swear, that this request to the people is Aung San Suu Kyi’s genuine statement,” he wrote.
Some pro-military supporters celebrated the coup by parading through Yangon in pick-up trucks and waving national flags, but others were appalled.
“Our country was a bird that was just learning to fly. Now the army broke our wings,” student activist Si Thu Tun told Reuters.
