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On date: 02/01/2021 02:34 am
According to her party, Myanmar’s de facto head of government has been arrested by the army. The country’s president is also in custody. Presumably these arrests are part of a coup.
After persistent criticism of the election results in Myanmar, the army apparently wants to overthrow the government. Myanmar’s de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other high-ranking members of the ruling party were arrested by the military early Monday, a spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) said.
He asked people to remain calm. “I want to tell our people not to react too quickly and I want them to act in accordance with the law,” added the government spokesman. He also expects to be arrested by the military. The British station “BBC” reported on the soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the larger city of Yangon. Telephone and Internet lines were cut in Naypyitaw.
Military suspected of electoral fraud
The NLD had won overwhelmingly in the November general election. According to official figures, his LND party obtained an absolute majority and turnout exceeded 70 percent. But even after the elections, Suu Kyi continued to depend on cooperation with the military. A quarter of the seats in the parliamentary chambers were reserved for the armed forces. This is what the 2008 constitution says, which the junta wrote in order not to lose power after the introduction of democratic reforms.
The army talks about electoral fraud. Commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing had already threatened last week that the constitution would be repealed if it was not respected. A military spokesperson was not available for comment.
De facto head of government
It was only the second election for the country that international observers deemed free and fair since the end of direct military rule in 2011. Due to another clause, Suu Kyi cannot become president, but rules the former Burma as a councilor of state and , therefore, as the de facto head of government. Without the army, constitutional changes are not possible and it also controls the most important ministries.
Suu Kyi had been under house arrest for 15 years under the military dictatorship that had ruled for decades. The former icon of freedom is now controversial internationally. The democratic reforms promised in the Buddhist country so far have largely failed to materialize and Suu Kyi is now displaying an increasingly authoritarian style of government. Suu Kyi has also been criticized for state discrimination against the Rohingya and her silence on violence against the Muslim minority.
