Myanmar’s military took power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was arrested along with other leaders of his National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the beatings in the early hours of the morning.
The army said it had carried out the arrests in response to an “election fraud”, handing over power to military leader Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for a year, according to a statement from a news outlet. military owned television.
The generals made their way hours before parliament was to run for the first time since winning the NLD defeat in the Nov. 8 election, seen as a referendum on Suu Kyi’s new democratic government.
Telephone lines could not be reached to the capital Naypyitaw and Yangon’s main shopping mall and state television was broadcast. People rushed to Yangon markets to stock up on food and supplies, while others lined up at ATMs to withdraw cash.
Soldiers took up positions in Yangon City Hall and interrupted mobile Internet data and services at the NLD stronghold, residents said. Internet connectivity had also fallen sharply, NetBlocks monitoring service said.
Suu Kyi, Myanmar President Win Myint, and other NLD leaders had been “arrested” in the early hours of the morning, NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters by phone.
“I want to tell our people not to respond hastily and I want them to act in accordance with the law,” he said, adding that he hoped to be arrested himself. Subsequently, Reuters was unable to contact him.
A video posted on Facebook by a deputy appeared to show the arrest of another regional lawmaker Pa Pa Han.
In the video, her husband begs men in military suits who are outside the door. You can see a small child clinging to his chest and complaining.
The arrests came after days of growing tension between the civilian government and the army that sparked fears of a coup after the election.
Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of the vote in the second election alone, as a military junta agreed to share power in 2011.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been informed of the arrests and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had called for the release of the leaders.
“The United States stands by the people of Burma in its aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately, “he said in a statement, using an alternative name for Myanmar.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the arrest of Suu Kyi and other political leaders and “urges the military leadership to respect the will of the people of Myanmar,” a UN spokesman said.
The Australian government said it was “deeply concerned about reports that the Myanmar army is trying to regain control of Myanmar.”
Japan said it was watching the situation and had no plans to repatriate Japanese citizens from Myanmar, while India’s foreign ministry expressed deep concern over the coup.
Singapore had a “grave” concern over the situation in Myanmar and urged all parties to work for a peaceful outcome, its foreign ministry said.
Prevention of the coup
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, 75, came to power after a 2015 election victory that followed decades of house arrest in a fight for democracy with the Myanmar junta that he made her an international icon.
Its international position was damaged after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled military operations to the Rakhine state refuge in western Myanmar in 2017, but it remains very popular at home. his.
Political tensions erupted last week when a military spokesman refused to rule out a coup before the new parliament meeting on Monday, and military leader Min Aung Hlaing raised the prospect of revoking the constitution.
Tanks were deployed on some streets last week and there were pro-military demonstrations in some cities ahead of the first parliamentary meeting.
Myanmar’s election commission has rejected military accusations of vote fraud.
The country’s constitution, published in 2008 after decades of military rule, reserves 25% of parliament seats for the military and control of three key ministries in Suu Kyi’s administration.
In their statement declaring the state of emergency, the military mentioned the failure of the electoral commission to deal with complaints about electoral lists, its refusal to accept a request to postpone new parliamentary sessions and the protests of the groups unhappy with the election.
“If this problem is not resolved, it will obstruct the path to democracy and therefore must be resolved in accordance with the law,” the statement said, citing an emergency provision in the constitution in the event that national sovereignty is threatened.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama, who fostered close ties with Suu Kyi, described the military acquisition as a severe blow to democracy in the region.
“If true, it is a huge setback, not only for democracy in Myanmar, but for U.S. interests. It is another reminder that the extensive absence of a credible and consistent commitment from the United States to the region has encouraged anti-democratic forces, ”he said.
Human Rights Watch’s Asia defense director John Sifton criticized the White House’s initial response as “disappointingly weak” and called for a more concerted international reaction.
“The United States must work with the Allies to speak more clearly, in unison, in terms of ultimatums, to inform the Myanmar Army of the specific consequences that will occur if its coup is not reversed.” state, ”he said.