What’s happening in Myanmar? The background noise that led to an Army coup

Police have clashed with Thai and Burmese activists outside the Embassy of Myanmar in Bangkok yesterday. Activists from the We Volunteer (WeVo) group had gathered to protest against yesterday’s military coup in Myanmar, in which a number of government officials were arrested and are still being detained.

The protesters, who began assembling around 3.30pm, gave speeches in Thai and Burmese, opposing the coup. They were joined by pro-democracy leaders Parit Chiwarak, aka “Penguin”, and Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul (“Rung”). Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from the Move Forward party was also present and called on the Thai government to take a lead role in restoring peace and democracy to the Burmese people.

Police ordered protesters to disperse around 4pm, accusing them of exceeding the agreed timeframe of 30 minutes and citing concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The…