“The Myanmar military, it was possible to coup anytime if I wanted to.”

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar National Advisor. (Photo = Yonhap News)–
◇ Kim Hyun-jung> But after a really long military dictatorship, the home pension of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi was ended, and the ruling party was democratically and peacefully entered after an election. We only knew this, but that was a few years ago. , Why?

◆ Joonyoung Jang> The basic cause of this coup was the election last November, and there will be an election commission at the time of the election. The election commission itself was not quite neutral. In other words, it was quite close to the Chin Aung San Suu Kyi Party. So, it is true that even before the election, the military and opposition parties continued to raise the issue of neutrality of the election commission. So these things were not properly accepted by NLD or Aung San Suu Kyi. That’s why the military started a coup this time.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> No, the general election is held by the propensity of pro-passport and that the person who manages the general election is a completely different dimension.

◆ Joon-Young Jang> The military’s argument is that the Election Commission has first damaged neutrality, and among them, among the names for which neutrality has been damaged, for example, there may be a list of electors. Because the list of electors was not properly prepared, there was a large-scale illegal election.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> There was a large-scale illegal election.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> So, it is not clearly confirmed, but it is claiming that way.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> I’m curious to see if it has been clearly confirmed, but in fact, it won’t be possible until the end in a situation under the military control.

◆ Jang Joon-young> Probably not.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> I can’t, I can’t. How is it in your eyes? How is it in the eyes of our researcher? Do you really think there was something? Or does it seem like the military took the justification and did this?

◆ Jang Joon-young> Actually, in Myanmar, it is quite easy to make a bill if the military is still trying to take over the government by causing a coup. So, even in the case of this coup, it is true that the Election Commission provided the inspiration, and the failure of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, or the NLD itself to actively respond to it is one of the reasons for causing the coup.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> It was an easy environment for the military to take over and cause a coup, you said so now.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> No, wasn’t Myanmar’s democratization completely settled? Is the military power still that strong?

◆ Jang Joon-young> Now, under the constitution, the military has a lot of interest, that is, the interest to engage in political intervention is guaranteed. And countries like Myanmar have been under military dictatorship for a very long time and have been under military dictatorship for almost half a century, so there are not so many social institutions or groups that can stand up to the military. That’s why it can be seen as a situation where we have been living together quite anxious until now.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Uneasy cohabitation.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes, and actually it was in 2015. It is true that whenever there was a general election, the military continued to make intimidating comments. I’ve kept saying that if the general election isn’t properly held, or that the Union is the Union of Myanmar at least a little, and that we can intervene in politics as much as we can if the country is damaged a little.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> So, you were aiming for a good time. Anytime you’ve been trying to overthrow this and let us regain power?

◆ Joonyoung Jang> That’s right.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Then, this time, in a day, the Korean people quickly expressed that it was a professional coup, but they really professionally initiated a coup and took control.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> How do you see the situation unfolding in the future?

◆ Jang Joon-young> I think it’s still a bit quiet in Korea. There will be many countries where foreigners, that is, Myanmar workers, mainly from overseas now, are out there. Protests have begun in this area now, and what they want is too much to me now, but the UN peacekeepers should intervene in Myanmar. I think I’m talking about that right now, but I probably don’t have it up to that level. First of all, I wonder if Western societies centered on the United States and the European Union will begin intensive sanctions against Myanmar. It is said that the UN Security Council is convening today, but it is likely that China will oppose it again. So, maybe he will release a statement condemning the Myanmar military.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Why is China against it?

◆ Jang Joon-young> China has a lot of interests with Myanmar.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Economically? It exports a lot.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Both economically and China’s foreign strategies have many geopolitical relationships with Myanmar.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Can we just think of the relationship between China and North Korea? Is it similar?

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes, you can see it like that.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> So, there is a check on Myanmar’s transfer to the United States.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Right. Most of the military, Myanmar military, can be considered as pro-Chinese.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Myanmar’s military is pro-Chinese.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> On the other hand, Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is now Chin-mi and Chin-young. Because it is close to the West.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> No, not necessarily.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> Isn’t that again?

◆ Jang Joon-young> Yes, even before now, even in the case of the NLD government, in the beginning, it was quite close to the West, and when domestic problems, workers’ problems, or such problems occurred, they built closer relations with China.

◇ Kim Hyun-jung> That’s why you express yourself like that for an uneasy cohabitation.

◆ Joonyoung Jang> Yes, it is.