Myanmar's Suu Kyi urged people to 'resist' military coup before arrest

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on people to reject the coup, before she was arrested by the military which has now taken over the country.

The military detained Suu Kyi and other senior members of her governing party on Sunday and declared a one-year emergency. It handed power to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Before her arrest, Suu Kyi urged people in a letter “not to accept this” and “protest against the coup,” according to her party. She said the military's actions would put the country back under dictatorship.

The military issued a statement in the early hours of Monday, saying it seized control due to “election fraud.”

The Southeast Asian country, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces until 2011, when Suu Kyi ended the military rule and introduced her reforms.

Myanmar's military says has 'detained' Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid.

The military has accused Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party of massive voter fraud in the November election that gave it a landslide victory.

Tensions grew after General Min Aung Hlaing delivered a speech warning that Myanmar’s constitution could be “revoked” if it was not respected.

Suu Kyi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize 30 years ago for her resistance against the military and was held under house arrest for 15 years, faces international scrutiny for her support for a military crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim people in the western state of Rakhine.

She defended the military atrocities against the Rohingya people at the United Nations’ top court in the Hague in December 2019.

Bangladesh sends Rohingya Muslim refugees to deserted islands

More than 1400 refugees set sail for the island of Bhasan Char, the fourth group sent to the island, where the Bangladeshi government plans to eventually move 100,000 Rohingya.

Soldiers are now back on the streets of the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and the main city of Yangon.

Army vows to hold fresh elections

The army said on Monday that it will hold fresh elections and hand power to the winning party.

“We will perform real multi-party democracy... with complete balance and fairness,” the army said, adding that power will be transferred after “holding a free and fair general election and the emergency provisions period is complete.”

The constitution allows a nationwide state of emergency to be declared for up to a year. That timeframe is now effectively within the army’s power to change.  

World reacts to coup d’etat

Following the coup, governments around the world called for the restoration of Myanmar's democracy.

China called on all parties in the county to “appropriately resolve their differences."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday that China "a friendly neighbor of Myanmar...hopes the various parties in Myanmar will appropriately resolve their differences under the constitutional and legal framework to protect political and social stability."

The United States also condemned the coup, saying Washington “opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US “stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced “grave concern” about the military coup, saying “the developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar.”

President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkir also voiced concerns over the situation in Myanmar, describing it as “unacceptable.”

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson denounced the military takeover and said the detention civilian leaders amounted to “unlawful imprisonment.”

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne also called on the military “to respect the rule of law" and "release immediately all civilian leaders and other who have been detained unlawfully.”

Japan also called for Myanmar's military to release Suu Kyi and restore democracy, saying it was opposed to moves that pushed the country "backwards."

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