(Staff article from the ABC NEWS Australia on 1 February 2021)
The South-East
Asian nation's new parliament was due to meet today for the first time since
the November election, which was won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's
party, but which the military says was marred by fraud.
National League for Democracy spokesman Myo Nyunt said Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning. "I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.
A group of Western powers including the United States issued a joint statement on Friday warning against "any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition". In a statement on Sunday, the military accused the foreign diplomats of making "unwarranted assumptions".
Military coup launched in Myanmar; Suu Kyi detained
NAYPYITAW,
Myanmar — Myanmar military television said Monday that the military was taking
control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country’s
senior politicians including Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained.
An presenter on military-owned Myawaddy TV made the
announcement and cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that
allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. He said the
reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the
military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to
postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.
The announcement
follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup — and military
denials — and came on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to
begin. The detention of the politicians and cuts in communication services on
Monday were the first signals that plans to seize power were in motion. Phone
and internet access to Naypyitaw was lost and Suu Kyi’s National League for
Democracy party could not be reached.
The Irrawaddy,
an established online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, who as state
counsellor is the nation’s top leader, and the country’s president, Win Myint,
were both detained in the pre-dawn hours. The news service cited Myo Nyunt, a
spokesman for the NLD. Its report said that the party’s Central Executive
Committee members, lawmakers and regional Cabinet members had also been taken
into custody.
The U.S.,
Australia and others issued statements expressing concern reports and urging
Myanmar’s military to respect the rule of law. “The United States is alarmed by
reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s
democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi
and other civilian officials in Burma,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said
in a statement from Washington. She said President Joe Biden had been briefed
on the reported developments.
“The United
States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede
Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible
if these steps are not reversed,” the statement said. Burma is the former name
of Myanmar.
Australian
Foreign Minister Marise Payne called for the release of Suu Kyi and others
reported to be detained. “We strongly support the peaceful reconvening of the
National Assembly, consistent with the results of the November 2020 general
election,” she said.
Myanmar
lawmakers were to gather Monday in the capital Naypyitaw for the first session
of Parliament since last year’s election. The 75-year-old Suu Kyi is by far the
country’s most dominant politician, and became the country’s leader after leading
a decades-long nonviolent struggle against military rule.
Suu Kyi’s party
captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined lower and upper houses of
Parliament in the November polls, but the military holds 25% of the total seats
under the 2008 military-drafted constitution and several key ministerial
positions are also reserved for military appointees.
The military,
known as the Tatmadaw, charged that there was massive voting fraud in the
election, though it has failed to provide proof. The state Union Election
Commission last week rejected its allegations.
