Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup on Monday against the democratically elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other leaders of her National League for Democracy (NLD) during early morning raids.
The military said it made the arrests in response to “electoral fraud,” transferring power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposing a state of emergency for a year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station.
The generals made their move hours before parliament would sit for the first time since the NLD’s defeat in a Nov. 8 election that was seen as a referendum on Suu Kyi’s fledgling democratic government.
Telephone lines to the capital Naypyitaw and the main commercial center of Yangon were inaccessible and state television went out. People rushed to markets in Yangon to stock up on food and supplies, while others lined up at ATMs to withdraw money.
Soldiers took up positions at Yangon City Hall, and mobile Internet data and telephone services in the NLD stronghold were disrupted, residents said. Internet connectivity had also fallen dramatically, monitoring service NetBlocks said.
Suu Kyi, the president of Myanmar, Win Myint and other NLD leaders were ‘taken’ in the early morning hours, NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters over the phone.
“I want to tell our people not to rush and I want them to obey the law,” he said, adding that he expected to be arrested himself. Reuters was subsequently unable to contact him.
A video posted to Facebook by a Member of Parliament showed the arrest of another, regional lawmaker Pa Pa Han.
In the video, her husband begs men in military clothing standing outside the gate. A young child clings to his chest and wails.
The arrests came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military that sparked fears of a coup d’etat in the aftermath of the election.
Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of the vote only in the second election since a military junta agreed to share power in 2011.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the arrests and Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the release of the leaders.
“The United States is behind the people of Burma in their pursuit of democracy, freedom, peace and development. The military must immediately reverse these actions, ”he said in a statement, using an alternative name for Myanmar.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the detention of Suu Kyi and other political leaders and “urges military leaders to respect the will of the people of Myanmar,” a UN spokesman said.
The Australian government said it was “deeply concerned by reports of the Myanmar military trying to seize control of Myanmar”.
Japan said it was monitoring the situation and had no plans to repatriate Japanese citizens from Myanmar, while the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed deep concern about the coup.
Singapore was “deeply” concerned about the unfolding situation in Myanmar and urged all sides to work towards a peaceful outcome, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Run-up to coup
Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, 75, came to power after a 2015 election victory that followed decades of house arrest in a struggle for democracy with Myanmar’s junta, which made her an international icon.
Her international reputation was damaged after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in 2017, but she remains hugely popular at home.
Political tensions escalated last week when a military spokesman refused to rule out a coup in the run-up to the new parliament on Monday, and military chief Min Aung Hlaing raised the prospect of repealing the constitution.
Last week, tanks were set up in some streets and in some cities pro-military demonstrations took place ahead of the first meeting of parliament.
Myanmar’s election commission has dismissed allegations of the military’s voting fraud.
The country’s constitution, published in 2008 after decades of military rule, reserves 25% of the seats in parliament for the military and control of three key ministries in Suu Kyi’s government.
In its statement declaring a state of emergency, the military cited the election commission’s failure to deal with complaints about voter rolls, its refusal to agree to a request to postpone new parliamentary sessions and protests from groups dissatisfied with the election .
“Unless this problem is resolved, it will hamper the path to democracy and it must therefore be resolved by law,” the statement said, referring to an emergency provision in the constitution in case national sovereignty is threatened.
Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia under former President Barack Obama who has close ties with Suu Kyi, described the military takeover as a severe blow to democracy in the region.
“If that is true, this is a huge setback – not just for democracy in Myanmar, but also for US interests. It is yet another reminder that the prolonged absence of credible and steady US involvement in the region has encouraged anti-democratic forces, ”he said.
John Sifton, Human Rights Watch’s director for Asia, criticized the White House’s initial response as “disappointingly weak” and urged a more coordinated international response.
“The US should work with allies to speak more clearly and in unison in terms of ultimatums, to notify the Myanmar military of the specific consequences that will arise if their coup is not reversed,” he said.