Myanmar’s military overthrew the country’s democratic government and took power early morning 1st February. As if the coup wasn’t enough, the military also detained democratically elected leaders including the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been detained together with other leaders belonging to her National League for Democracy (NLD) party after the military carried out raids early in the morning.
The President Win Myint was also taken into detention according to the spokesperson of NLD. “I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law,” said the spokesperson who also said he was expecting his arrest anytime.
The military says it conducted these raids as retaliation to election fraud, as per a statement made on a military-owned television station after the raids, power has been handed over to military chief Min Aung Hlaing who has imposed a state of emergence in Myanmar for the next one year.
This coup comes barely hours before the parliament was to set to hold its first parliamentary sitting after the national elections held November 8 in which NLD won by a landslide.
Moments after the coup, phone lines to the capital Naypyitaw and the main commercial center of Yangon were inaccessible the state’s TV station also went off air.
This development caused disruptions and tensions across the capital as people began rushing to the markets to buy goods in bulk. Long queues would be seen outside ATM machines as individuals were trying to withdraw cash.
United States secretary of state Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden had been briefed of this development and he would be making his statement on the matters later in the day. Additionally, blinken said the United States is in full support of with the people of Myanmar.
“The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately,” said Blinken using Burma to mean Myanmar.
Multiple countries across the world and international bodies have now expressed their dissatisfaction with the coup further asking the military to reverse the coup.
