Myanmar, 1 February, 2021 (TON): Democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Prize winner, and others detained of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the early morning raids.  

Myanmar’s military seized power on Monday in a coup against the leader.  

The army said it had carried out the detentions in reaction to the election fraud, imposing a state of emergency for one year and handing power military chief Mn Aung Hlaing.

The phone lines to the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main commercial center of Yangon were unreachable.

In Yangon, the soldiers took up positions at city hall and mobile internet data and phone services in the NLD stronghold were disrupted, the residents said.

Suu Kyi, Myanmar President Win Myint, and other NLD leaders were taken in the early hours of the morning.

“I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law,” he said, adding he expected to be arrested himself.

After the tensions between the civilian government and the military peaked, it stirred fears of a coup in the aftermath of the election.

The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the arrest of Suu Kyi.

“The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

The Australian government said it was “deeply concerned at reports the Myanmar military is once again seeking to seize control of Myanmar” and called for the immediate release of the unlawfully detained leaders.

Japan said it was watching the situation and currently had no plans to repatriate Japanese nationals from Myanmar.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said Myanmar’s military had never submitted to civilian rule and called on the United States and other countries to impose “strict and directed economic sanctions” on the military leadership and its economic interests.

In the elections on 8 November, 2020, NLD won 83% of the available seats however, many saw it as a referendum on the civilian government.

It can be seen that the military raised disputes over the results of the elections and filed complaints at the Supreme Court against the President and the chair of the electoral commission. It is noteworthy, that it is just the second elections since the end of military rule in 2011.