Myanmar military dismisses ministers, deputies

KUALA LUMPUR Myanmar’s ruling junta said Tuesday that 24 ministers and their deputies have been dismissed and 11 replacements have been made after it seized power in a coup. Military-owned Myawaddy TV announced that the military administration unseated the ministers in the government of former President Win Myint and the 11 new ministers were appointed in the first phase. The new appointments included the portfolios for treasury, health, information, foreign affairs, defense, border security and internal affairs, according to the announcement. On Sunday, Myanmar's military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, declared a state of emergency hours after detaining de facto leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). Suu Kyi served as the de facto leader of Myanmar from 2016 to 2021 following a long struggle for democracy in the nation that earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. However, her silence over the massacre of Rohingya Muslims and defense of the military's genocide at the international court drew harsh criticism across the globe. The coup took place hours before the first session of the country's new parliament was set to convene following elections last November in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party made sweeping gains. The military claimed the coup was staged due to "election fraud" in the polls that it said resulted in the dominance of the NLD in parliament. The US, UK, UN and EU have also condemned the move, calling for a reversal of the military's actions.