Myanmar’s police file charges against Suu Kyi

Myanmar’s police have filed charges against the overthrown de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sought her detention until mid-February for investigation in the wake of a recent military coup.

The 75-year-old was charged on Wednesday for illegally importing communications equipment.

Security forces claimed walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in the capital Naypyidaw.

Police also filed a request with a court asking Suu Kyi’s detention “in order to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant.”

The notorious import-export act was always used under the former military regime to imprison political prisoners.

Separately, police filed charges against ousted President Win Myint for offences under the Disaster Management Law.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party said its offices had been raided in several regions.

Army chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power in the early hours of February 1, alleging fraud in the November 8 election, which the NLD won in a landslide. 

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.

People in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, say they would display opposition to the coup by banging pans on Wednesday night. People all across the country were expected to join in on balconies as part of a campaign of civil disobedience urged by Suu Kyi.

Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) major industrialized countries on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the coup.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, as well as Britain’s foreign secretary and the US secretary of state, plus the high representative of the European Union for foreign policy censured the coup.

“We are deeply concerned by the detention of political leaders and civil society activists, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and targeting of the media,” the statement read.

“We call upon the military to immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically-elected government, to release all those unjustly detained and to respect human rights and the rule of law.”

The military accuses NLD of massive voter fraud in the 2020 elections.

Myanmar’s military holding lawmakers in ‘open-air prison’ after coup

Hundreds of lawmakers in Myanmar are being held in “an open-air detention center” in the country’s capital, Naypyidaw, a day after the military staged a coup.

Myanmar was ruled by the military until 2011, when Suu Kyi ended the junta rule and introduced what were presented as reforms.

Her party, however, cultivated close relations with the military from the beginning of its activity and formed an alliance with senior military officers.

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

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

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