An aerobics teacher couldn't have picked a more perfect spot for her routine class on Monday. Little did she know that she would be among the first civilian witness to the coup that was taking place in Myanmar, of course unknowingly until the news of Myanmar's de facto leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's detention made the headlines until later that day. The aerobics teacher was going about her day as she actively conducted her class and live-streamed it on Facebook, only to have accidentally captured the Myanmar coup in the background.
Khing Hnin Wai, a physical education teacher at Ministry of Education, routinely shares videos of her aerobics lessons from the same spot in Myanmar's capital Naipido, but Monday was not just another day. Her video went viral on social media after the events of Myanmar coup in action was briefly captured on camera. A convoy of military vehicles can be seen Enroute the parliament moments before Aung San Suu Kyi was detained.
While many questioned the authenticity of the video, if it was somehow edited, Wai shared other videos of her aerobics practice from the same spot. Moreover, HoaxEye confirmed that there were no signs of editing.
"It's difficult to verify this without additional sources - which probably won't be available for now. But I don't see any obvious signs of editing and they have posted similar videos from same location - leaning towards real," the video editing expert noted.
Watch:
Una mujer hizo su clase de aerobic sin darse cuenta de que estaban dando el golpe de Estado en Myanmar. Y pues puede verse como el convoy de militares llega al parlamento. pic.twitter.com/fmFUzhawRe
— Àngel Marrades (@VonKoutli) February 1, 2021
Myanmar coup
The Myanmar military staged a coup on Monday and seized control of the country after detaining de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other top leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, following escalated tensions between the government and the army that erupted due to results of the November 2020 polls.
According to the declaration, which was first announced on the military-owned Myawady TV, state of emergency has been declared in the South Asian country for a period of one year.
The actions of the Myanmar military were met with strong criticism on international platform. India, Australia and the United States condemned the actions.
"India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar," the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said in a statement. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the "military must reverse these actions immediately," condemning the coup.
"We call on the military to respect the rule of law, to resolve disputes through lawful mechanisms and to release immediately all civilian leaders and other who have been detained unlawfully," Australialian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said.
