Myanmar: Military coup kills fragile democracy Format Governments Should Press for Release of Detainees, Return to Civilian Rule (New York) – Governments worldwide should together demand that the Myanmar military respect the results of recent national elections and relinquish power, Human Rights Watch said today. Military authorities are holding dozens of activists and National League for Democracy (NLD) officials incommunicado, raising concerns about their possible mistreatment in custody. On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military arrested the civilian leaders of the national and state governments and announced a one-year “state of emergency.” The military arrested leader Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and several dozen other senior officials in early morning raids in the capital, Naypyidaw. The officials were in Naypyidaw for the lower house of parliament to convene after the November 2020 national elections, which the NLD won by a large margin. The military also detained NLD officials and civil society activists in other parts of Myanmar, and cut telecommunications and the internet.