The Burmese army carried out a coup early Monday and declared a state of emergency for a year and placed its generals in key posts. The head of the civilian government, Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested, along with the President of the Republic, Win Myint.
The army seized power in Burma on Monday, February 1, 2021. It arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and the President of the Republic, Win Myint, and declared a state of emergency for one year . “We heard that they were being held in Naypyidaw,” the country’s capital, said NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt, who believes several other officials were also arrested. The army then seized the town hall of Yangon, the economic capital of the country, and access to its international airport was blocked by the military.
In a letter circulated on social networks by his party, Aung San Suu Kyi declares that “the army is putting the country back under military dictatorship” and calls on the population to “not accept” this military putsh.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was quick to respond. He “strongly condemned” the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi. With “the declaration of the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military”, “these developments are a blow to democratic reforms in Burma”, he lamented.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, also condemned in a tweet the putsh and called for the release of the detainees. “I strongly condemn the coup d’état in Burma and call on the military to release all those who were illegally detained in raids across the country. The outcome of the elections must be respected and the democratic process must be restored, ”he wrote.
A shower of condemnations followed this coup. France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Japan, among others, strongly condemned a blow to democracy and called for the release of the arrested political authorities. Russia is not yet ready to comment on the current state of affairs, saying it is too early to make an assessment.
Other countries like Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines have been careful not to interfere in Burma’s internal affairs.
Others like Bangladesh instead call on both sides to preserve peace and stability in the country.
The party of Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991, much criticized internationally for its handling of the Rohingya Muslim crisis but still adored by a majority of the population, won a landslide victory in November. It was the second general election since 2011, when the junta that ruled the country for half a century was dissolved. Elections contested by the Burmese army, which had promised to restore democracy in the country.
