Dance Instructor Accidentally Films Military Moving in During Coup in Myanmar

February 2, 2021

A physical education instructor from the Ministry of Education in Myanmar accidentally filmed the military moving in during a coup in the background while performing her regular workout routine on Monday morning.

The details: Khing Hnin Wai went viral after posting a video where she practices aerobics near the parliament in Myanmar, according to Newsweek.

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In her Facebook post, Khing can be seen dancing to an upbeat tune when the military starts to storm the blockaded road behind her.
Khing explained she was oblivious to what was happening and was focused on recording the video for a competition. At one point, the police chiefs even smiled at her, but it was unclear if they were part of the group who stormed the parliament.
“Well, the music/tunes and the background definitely complement each other. Before I knew about this news in the morning, I was doing my normal thing and was recording a video for a competition,” Khing said in her post, as translated by Reddit user General_Valentine. “I guess this video is now my little keepsake! As I was dancing, helicopters were going whirl-whirl-whirl, cars going vroom-vroom. With all the guns, I thought someone was aiming at me from a distance. The police chiefs were just smiling and looking at me, even asking me if I was going home and bid me farewell. Please do not copy and paste my video though!”
Social media users questioned Khing’s video, but the woman later proved it was authentic by posting several clips shot in the same location later on Monday.

Sudden rebellion: Myanmar faced a coup d’etat as the military seized control of the country after alleging there was fraud in the country’s November 2020 election.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and her party National League for Democracy (NLD), won the national election by a landslide, but the opposing military-backed party, Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), called fraud following the results, Aljazeera reported.
Min Aung Hlaing, the general of the military had previously expressed interest in the presidency. But before he becomes appointed, the USDP would still need to secure 167 seats in the parliament.
NLD won 396 out of the 498 available seats in the parliament during the November 2020 election.
On Monday, the military’s TV station announced the power has already been transferred to the military’s commander-in-chief, and he will assume the position for one year.
Suu Kyi and other party members were arrested during a military raid. It is not clear where they are being held.
TV stations, telephones and the internet have reportedly been cut in most areas in the country except for the military-owned Myawaddy TV.

Condemnation: Many government bodies and organizations have condemned the attack on democracy in Myanmar.

The U.S., through Secretary of State Antony Blinken, has called out the usurpers to respect the voice of the people by choosing their leaders.
“We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8,” Blinken said.
Australia, Singapore and the United Nations had also condemned the attack in Myanmar.

Featured Image Screenshot via Khing Hnin Wai

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