The Myanmar army has arrested the Nobel laureate and other senior members of its party, the National League for Democracy reported, • Qi has spent many years under house arrest, but her name was tarnished during the Rohingya massacre.
Ang San Su Chi
Photography:
IPI
After years of civilian rule, Myanmar seems to be deteriorating back into military rule.
Myanmar's army arrested state leader Ang San Suu Kyi and other senior members of the National League for Democracy last night (Monday), according to a party spokesman.
A party spokesman claimed that Chi had been arrested in the early hours of the morning (local time), and called on the Myanmar population not to "react hastily", noting that he believes he too will be arrested soon.
The arrests made by the military come after months of power struggles between Chi's party and the military, after the National League won a majority of seats in parliament in last November's elections, but the military refused to accept the election results and claimed they were flawed.
A BBC correspondent in the country reports that soldiers are seen in the country's capital, Nifidao and in the city of Yangon.
In addition, telephone and Internet communications in the country were cut off.
The symbol of the struggle for democracy stained with blood
Chi herself was for years the symbol of the democratic struggle in the country and spent decades in house arrests during the military rule in the country and even won for her work for democracy in the country she won many awards around the world - including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. USA and the Gold Medal of Congress.
After his final release from house arrest in 2010, and the military's decision to hold semi-free elections in the country in 2012, Chi decided to run for state leadership and her party won many seats in the country’s lower house.
In the 2015 elections, Chi's party won a majority of 80 percent of the vote, and was elected to head the state.
However, Chi's name has been tarnished in recent years due to her silence and even support for the genocide perpetrated by the Myanmar army on the country's Rohingya population.