Myanmar’s military detained State Senior Minister Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior ruling party officials on Monday (Feb. 1, 2021), seizing control of the country and declaring a state of emergency.
The military said in a statement that the arrests were made in response to election fraud, saying elections would be held a year after the country entered a state of emergency and the military would hand over power to the winner.
A spokesman for Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy said Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior ruling party officials were arrested in the raid early Monday morning local Time.
The White House of the Biden administration issued a statement Sunday evening local time expressing concern about the arrest of Burmese civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi by the military, saying the U.S. would take action against those involved if the obstruction of Burma’s democratic transition is not reversed.
Secretary of State Blinken later also said in a statement, “We urge Burma’s military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and to respect the will of the Burmese people as expressed through democratic elections on November 8.” He added that “the (Burmese) military must immediately reverse these actions.”
U.N. Secretary-General Guterres also “strongly condemned” the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and others by the Burmese military.
In addition, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Singapore all expressed concern about the situation in Myanmar.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “China is a friendly neighbor of Myanmar and hopes that all parties in Myanmar will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability.”
It comes days after escalating tensions between the civilian government and the powerful military. The military claimed fraud in November’s elections, sparking fears of a post-election coup.
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