Military takes control of Myanmar; Aung San Suu Kyi reported detained
Military takes control of Myanmar; Aung San Suu Kyi reported detained
AP / Updated: Feb 1, 2021, 13:24 IST
Myanmar military television said Monday that the
military was taking control of the country for one year, while reports said many of the country s senior politicians including
Aung San Suu Kyi had been detained. An announcement read on military-owned Myawaddy TV cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency. It said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government s failure to act on the military s claims of voter fraud in last November s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.
The announcements and declaration of the state of emergency followed days of concern about the threat of a military coup and military denials that it would stage one and came on the morning the country s new Parliament session was to begin.
Suu Kyi s National League for Democracy urged Myanmar s people to oppose Monday s coup and any return to military dictatorship. The statement posted to Suu Kyi s Facebook page said the military s actions were unjustified and went against the constitution and the will of voters. The takeover was a sharp reversal of the partial yet significant progress toward democracy Myanmar made in recent years following five decades of military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It would also be shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, who led the democracy struggle despite years under house arrest and won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Myanmar’s military staged a coup Monday and detained senior politicians including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi — a sharp reversal of the significant, if uneven, progress . . .
Burmese Military Executes Coup After Circulating Baseless Election Fraud Rumors
Soldiers stand guard on a street in Naypyidaw on February 1, 2021, after the military detained the country s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup.
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Long-simmering fears of a military-led subversion of Burmaâs (also known as Myanmar) recent steps toward democracy became reality early Monday as the nationâs armed forces arrested civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and announced a one-year state of emergency that transfers power to Min Aung Hlaing, the Southeast Asian countryâs top general.
In an announcement broadcast on state television Monday morning, the military justified its seizure of power with claims of widespread fraud in November parliamentary elections which Suu Kyiâs National League for Democracy party won in a landslide. Myanmarâs election commission officially rejected the militaryâs claims of fraud as baseless last we