Reports from Myanmar say that on Sunday morning, the country military has seized power and arrested senior civilian leaders including Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. The military action comes after the party loyal to it has criticized last November’s elections in which the National League for Democracy (NLP) won a majority and is expected to form a new government was unfair.
In a broadcast on the Military television and radio station, the army statement confirmed that it has seized power from the civilian authority. The NLD control Parliament was supposed to convene on Monday to form a new government but that will not happen as the armed forces have arrested NLD elected officials, patrolling the streets, and restricted internet access to most urban areas.
The NLD Spokesman Myo Nyunt informed Reuters and CNN that he is calling on NLD supporters and the people of Myanmar to remain peaceful and respect the law. Mr. Nyunt also confirmed the arrest of State Controller Suu Kyi and President Win Mint.
Following the elections, last November, the party loyal to the military argued that the elections were not fair but the country’s election commission dispute that claim. International observers noted that there were some irregularities, overall, those irregularities were minimum and did not affect the election results.
The disagreement among the parties increased political tension between the NLD and the military-backed party. According to the Voice of America, senior military Gen. Min Aung Hlaing hinted that if the issue of election irregularities were not resolved then the military was going to take control of the government.
The Myanmar military has ruled the country from 1962 until 2011. During the military rule, politicians were detained including Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest for 20 years. Coup leaders have said that they are imposing a state of emergency for the next 12 months. The military said that Commander in Chief Hlaing was overseeing the government.
United States President Joe Biden called on the military to respect the outcome of the election and warned that there will be consequences for those who will try to undermine the will of the people of Myanmar. The United Nations Secretary-General; Antonio Gutierrez also condemned the military takeover and urged them to return power to the elected civilian officials.
The NLD leader Aung Suu Kyi awarded the Nobel Prize in 1991 and is well respected in her country because of her fight against the military government to return the country to civilian rule. However, Ms. Suu Kyi has come under criticism internationally for her government handling of the Rohingya Muslim minority situation and for personally defending the country’s military against genocide charge at the International Criminal Court.
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