- A House resolution censoring those responsible for the coup in Myanmar was passed by 398 votes to 14 on Friday.
- More than a dozen Republican Party representatives, the majority of pro-Trump Freedom Caucus, opposed the motion.
- Some of those who voted against the measure linked it to immigration or the election results in the United States.
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On Friday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution that censored the military coup in Myanmar by a vote of 398 to 14. More than a dozen Republicans, most of them from the pro-Trump Freedom Caucus, stand opposed.
The vote condemned the military generals who orchestrated the coup and demanded that the Biden government sanction them.
Some Freedom Caucus representatives tied their votes to right-wing political discussion points, and some made reference to the 2020 elections in the United States.
Those who voted were not, 13 of whom are part of Freedom Caucus:
- Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona
- Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
- Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado
- Rep. Chip Roy of Texas
- Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania
- Andy Harris of Maryland
- Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina
- Rep. Mary Miller of Illinois
- Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia
- Representative Barry Moore of Alabama
- Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia
- Rep. Buck of Colorado
- Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida
Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, a member of the caucus, voted for this.
A Republican, who is not a member of Freedom Caucus, also voted against the resolution: Representative Thomas Massie, from Kentucky.
Perry opposed Pennsylvania voters before the January 6 and Friday insurrection, and his spokesman told Forbes that the Myanmar resolution “is an open attempt to get Republicans to condemn the evidence allegations of electoral fraud in Burma while perpetuating similar allegations (in the opinion of Democrats) of evidence in the US elections. “
Harris issued a statement aimed at immigrants, saying that Congress should address, “COVID illegal aliens being dispersed in our communities instead of wasting time on useless resolutions about a foreign country.”
Biggs, the caucus chair, posted a video on Twitter explaining his opposition to the resolution.
In the video, Biggs said the violence resulting from the coup is “tragic”. However, Biggs says that “there is suffering all over the world” and believes that the United States “cannot be the military police for the entire world”. He claimed that the resolution was a means of “setting foot in the door in Burma”.
In the November elections in Myanmar, the ruling National League for Democracy won 396 of the 476 seats in Parliament, with the Solidarity and Development Party, affiliated with the military, winning 33 seats.
The military, known as Tatmadaw, claimed that the election was fraught with electoral fraud – charging 8.6 million cases of “electoral irregularities” among a population of 54 million – an allegation that was rejected by the country’s electoral commission, according to the AP.
The main members of the ruling party, including civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, were detained by the military.
Mass protests have followed the coup in Myanmar since the beginning of February and, according to the UN, military forces have killed at least 138 protesters since then. The military also instituted media and internet blackouts.
After the vote on Friday, Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia tweeted that, “The QAnon Caucus House refuses to condemn the military coup in Burma.”