Myanmar’s military announced the detention of the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, transferring power to the military and imposing a one-year state of emergency, in what was seen as a follow-up to the ruling National League for Democracy’s resounding victory in last November’s parliamentary elections. In addition to Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and some senior officials were also taken away by military personnel.
The Burmese military announced in a televised speech Monday (Feb. 1) that army chief Min Aung Hlaing would take over the country, adding that the operation was to address “fraud” in last year’s election. The National League for Democracy won a majority of seats in last November’s parliamentary vote, and the new parliament was scheduled to take office on Monday.
A military spokesman later issued a statement on social media sites that a “completely fair and impartial” election would be held in the coming year, followed by a transfer of power.
Soldiers were stationed on the streets of Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar’s capital, and Yangon, its largest city, and mobile internet and phone services were disrupted in some major cities, with state-run television MRTV citing a “technical fault” for suspending broadcasts. The BBC’s Burmese website reported that communications in Nay Pyi Taw were cut off, while network speeds in Yangon and other places were very slow, and international television stations such as the BBC and CNN were cut off.
Jonathan Head, the BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, said the military had said only last week that it would abide by the constitution, but that this appeared to be a coup d’etat. He believes that although the military still has a lot of power, the detention of political leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi is still a very dangerous move and could cause a strong backlash.
How did the incident start?
Myanmar held parliamentary elections last November, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won about 83 percent of the seats, with Aung San Suu Kyi expected to stay on as a senior minister of state. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), considered a pro-military party, won only 33 of the 476 seats.
But the military accused the election of fraud, and it earlier appealed to the local election commission to overturn the results, but was denied.
Aung San Suu Kyi spent years under house arrest while under military rule in Burma, and was only released in 2011, just before the military handed over power. She then led the National League for Democracy to victory in the 2015 election, but her husband and son are both British citizens and therefore cannot become president under the local constitution.
When the NLD came to power, it created the post of “senior minister of state” and put Aung San Suu Kyi in charge. The position, which is equivalent to that of a prime minister in other countries, was criticized by the military at the Time as unconstitutional.
She is seen as a symbol of the struggle for democracy and freedom in the face of military repression in Myanmar, but after she took power she was accused of allowing the military to suppress the local Rohingya population, causing tens of thousands of the ethnic minority to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. She even personally defended the military’s actions at the UN-affiliated International Court of Justice in 2019, drawing criticism from the outside world.
Despite this, the majority of Myanmar’s population is Buddhist and does not care much for the mostly Muslim Rohingya, so the incident has not affected Aung San Suu Kyi’s image at Home.
How has the outside world reacted?
Under Myanmar’s constitution, the military chief can take over power in extreme circumstances, such as when the country is in crisis, but only if the country is in a state of emergency, which only the president has the power to declare.
The U.S. and Australian governments have issued statements criticizing the Burmese military’s actions, with White House spokesman Jen Psaki warning of “action” if the Burmese military does not withdraw its actions. Australia has called on the Burmese military to abide by the rule of law and to resolve disputes through legal channels.
Human rights group Amnesty International also issued a statement describing the situation as “extremely concerning” and calling on the military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and others immediately unless they can be charged with “crimes recognized by international law.
The BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Haider analyzed that the tension between the Burmese military and the government is no secret. But even though locals are experiencing a new pneumonia Epidemic, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party still has the support of about 70 percent of voters.
Aung San Suu Kyi has behaved stubbornly and is unlikely to cooperate with someone who puts a gun to her head. Her ally, President Win Myint, is the only person authorized by the constitution to enact a state of emergency. But President Win Myint is detained with her by the Burmese military.
Haider described the Burmese military’s actions as now seemingly reckless and taking Burma in a dangerous direction.
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