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Myanmar coup: The army seizes power and arrests the country's leader
The Myanmar army has arrested Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader Aung San Suu Kyi and senior members of the ruling party, claiming the country's last elections were "stolen".
In addition, the army declared a state of emergency and announced that the army commander, Min Oung Haling, had taken over the role of Su Ki.
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Myanmar
Military coup
revolution
Reuters
Monday, 01 February 2021, 04:57
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Arrested for election fraud.
Aung San Suu Kyi (Photo: Reuters)
Myanmar's army has arrested Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Wein Maine and other senior members of the ruling party, the National Democracy League, the country's military said Monday night, declaring a state of emergency.
The military statement also said that the army commander, Min Oung Haling, would fulfill the role of Su Ki and that the move was made because the last elections in Myanmar had been "stolen".
In recent days, tensions between the civilian government and the army have increased, raising fears of a coup following the recent elections, which the army claims have been stolen.
On Saturday, the army responded to the concerns, saying that they would defend the constitution and act in accordance with the law.
The Myanmar Electoral Commission rejected the military's claims of vote-rigging, saying there were not enough big mistakes to affect the credibility of the vote.
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Seized power.
Army Commander Min Oung Haling (Photo: Reuters)
A spokesman for the ruling party, Mew Newnet, told Reuters in a phone call shortly after the arrests that "I want to call on the people not to react recklessly and I want them to act in accordance with the law," adding that he believes he will be arrested himself.
After that, the agency was unable to contact him.
Cellular and Internet networks have fallen in at least two major cities in the country, and some local journalists have gone into hiding for fear their reporting could hurt their security.
In addition, the state television network announced in a Facebook post that it could not broadcast due to technical issues and an eyewitness said soldiers were stationed outside the town hall in Myanmar's central city, Yangon.
Domestic flights were also suspended.
The leader of the detained state, 75-year-old Su Ki, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She came to power after her party won the 2015 election, after being under house arrest for decades over her struggle for democracy, which made her an international icon.
Its status in the world was damaged after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya minorities fled the country due to military activity in Rakhine state in western Myanmar in 2017, but it remained very popular within the country.
The constitution retains 25% of the seats in parliament for the military and control of three central government ministries.
Military vehicles in Yangon Municipality.
Tonight (Photo: Reuters)
Murray Hebert, an expert in Southeast Asia on Washington's main strategic team for strategic and international research, explained that developments in Myanmar would pose a challenge to the administration of new US President Joe Biden.
"The United States joined other countries on Friday in calling on the military not to proceed with the threat of a coup. China will stand by Myanmar, as happened when the military expelled the Rohingya from the country," he said.
"The Biden administration has said it will support democracy and human rights. But senior military officers have already been sanctioned so it is not clear what exactly the United States can do quickly."
John Septon, director of Asia's human rights watchdog for Human Rights Watch, said the Myanmar army had never surrendered to civilian rule and called on the United States and other countries to impose "rigid and direct economic sanctions" on its military leadership and economic interests.
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