Naypyidaw, Myanmar – Myanmar’s military-run television network said on Monday that the army had taken control of the country for a year amid reports that several senior politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, had been detained. The order was swiftly condemned by the European Union and human rights groups as a coup d’tat, and “serious concerns” were expressed about President Biden’s newly sworn administration in Washington.
A Myanmar-owned Mayawadi TV presenter announced the takeover and cited a section of the constitution drafted by the military that could take control of the military in times of national crisis. He said the takeover was partly due to the government’s failure to act on allegations of voter fraud by the military in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election. Coronavirus crisis.
The military said it would hold new elections at the end of the state of emergency and give power to the winner. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in last November’s general election, insulting the military-backed opposition Union Unity and Development Party.
Military TV reports that Commander-in-Chief Senior General Minung Hlaing will take charge of the country, while Vice President Myint Sweene will be made acting president. Myint Swee is a former general who was known in 2007 for cracking down on Buddhist monks. He is a closer ally than former Zanta leader Shwe.
After the declarations of the state of emergency and the announcement, there were days of concern about the threat of a military coup – and a military denial that it would do a phase – and the country’s new parliamentary session was to begin in the morning.
Suu Kyi’s political party, the National League for Democracy, has called on the people of Myanmar to return to Monday’s “uprising” and “military dictatorship” anyway. A statement posted on Suu Kyi’s Facebook page said the military’s actions were “unjustified” and “unconstitutional”.
After five decades of military rule and international isolation, which began in 1962, there has been a dramatic change in Myanmar’s recent progress towards democracy, albeit a partial one. There will also be a shock from the power of Suu Kyi, who led the struggle for democracy. Despite years of incarceration and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
“Grave Anxiety and Alarm”
The military’s actions provoked rapid and widespread international condemnation.
New US Secretary of State Anthony Blink has issued a statement expressing “grave concern and alarm” over the reported detention.
“We call on the Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and to respect the will of the Burmese people expressed in the democratic elections,” he wrote, using Myanmar’s former name. “The United States stands by the aspirations of the people of Burma for democracy, freedom, peace and development.”
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 spokeswoman Jane Psaki said in a statement.
He said President B Biden was briefed on the development.
The United States opposes any attempt to change the outcome of the recent elections or to hamper Myanmar’s democratic transition, and will take action against those responsible if these measures are not reversed, the statement said.
The office of the UN Secretary-General was also among those who issued a statement condemning the development, which dealt a severe blow to democratic reform.
In Brussels, Charles Mitchell, president of the European Union’s European Council, issued a statement strongly condemning the “uprising in Myanmar” and calling on the military to “release all those detained illegally in raids across the country.”
“The election results need to be respected and the democratic process needs to be re-established,” he said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reacted to the condemnation and insisted on Twitter that “a legitimate civilian government must be re-established.”
The power to seize
The detention of politicians and the cuts in television signals and communications services on Monday were the first signs that a plan to seize power was underway. Naipitau’s phone and internet were lost. Phone service was also reported in other parts of the country, although people are still able to use the internet in many areas.
Irrawaddy, an established news online news service, reported that Suu Kyi, the country’s top leader as a state adviser, and the country’s president, Vin Myint, were both detained in the early hours of the morning. The news service quoted NLD spokesman Myo Nint as saying.
The report said that members of the party’s central executive committee, legislators and members of the regional cabinet were also taken into custody.
Others detained by political activists for security reasons and not believed to be involved include filmmaker Meen Hatin Ko Ko Gai, writer Maung Thar Cho and prominent figures in the country’s 1988 student protest movement, such as Ko Ko Gi and Mein Ko Naing. . His detention could not be immediately confirmed.
As word of the military crackdown spread across the country’s largest city, Yangon, there was a sense of incompetence among residents, who had been crammed into cafes for breakfast the previous day and shopping their mornings.
People were removing the bright red flags of Suu Kyi’s party that once decorated their homes and businesses. Lines were formed at ATMs as people waited to withdraw cash, an effort that was being complicated by internet disruptions. Some business workers decided to go home.
Monday’s parliamentary session was to be the first since last year’s election, as tensions have been lengthened by recent remarks by the military, which has largely been seen as threatening a coup.
There is a clause in the 2008 constitution enacted and enacted during military rule that states that in the event of a national crisis, the military may issue an emergency order to the president in coordination with the affected National Defense and Security Council. And judicial powers.
The article was described by New York-based Human Rights Watch as a “method of waiting in revolt.”
It is only one of the many parts of the charter that ensures that the military can maintain ultimate control over the country at the expense of elected politicians. The military was also assured of 25% of seats in parliament and control of some key ministries, particularly the security and defense.
Suu Kyi, 75, is by far the most popular politician in the country, and became the country’s de facto leader after her party won 301 elections, although the constitution barred her from running for president. She was a staunch opponent of the army during her captivity.
However, once in power, Suu Kyi had to balance her relations with the country’s generals and even went to the international arena to defend them. Crash on Rohingya Muslims In the west of the country, a U.S. And others have labeled it genocide. In the wake of this she has left an international reputation.
It is wildly popular at home, where most support the campaign against the Rohingya. In last November’s election, Suu Kyi’s party won 396 of the 476 seats in the lower house of parliament.
The military, known as Tatmadav, has accused the polls of massive voter fraud, although it has failed to provide evidence. The State Union Election Commission last week denied the allegations.
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