On the first anniversary of the military takeover in Myanmar, Turkey's Foreign Ministry Tuesday expressed its concern over the continuation of the dire situation in the Asian country.
The ministry issued a statement emphasizing that Turkey is against any kind of coup or military intervention in principle.
"We are concerned that the situation in the country remains dire on the first anniversary of the military coup carried out on Feb. 1, 2021, in Myanmar," it said.
The military’s takeover on Feb. 1, 2021, ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy party was about to begin a second five-year term in office after winning a landslide victory in the previous year’s November election. The military said it acted because there was widespread voter fraud in the polls – an allegation that independent election observers have argued lacks evidence.
Widespread nonviolent demonstrations followed the army’s takeover initially, but armed resistance arose after protests were suppressed with lethal force. About 1,500 civilians have been killed but the government has been unable to crush the insurgency, which some United Nations experts now characterize as a civil war.
The statement released by Ankara calls for the necessary steps to be taken to restore democracy to ensure peace and stability in the country and to stop violence against civilians. "We reiterate our expectations that efforts to improve the situation of Rohingya Muslims living under harsh conditions in Myanmar will continue and provide a permanent solution to the Rohingya problem," the statement further read.
The Rohingyas, described as the world's most persecuted people by the U.N., have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.