A military coup is reportedly underway in Myanmar. According to reports, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest early on Monday morning. Communications to the capital have seemingly been cut, and as the news broke, there was no phone and internet access to Naypyitaw. Additionally, reports suggest that state TV had gone off air hours before Parliament convened.
On Monday, Myanmar lawmakers were to gather in Naypyitaw for the first session of Parliament since last year's election, with tension lingering over recent comments by the military that were widely seen as threatening a coup. Now, in the wake of the reports of Suu Kyi's detention, an update by China's CGTN indicate that the a state of emergency has been declared in the country. Reportedly, the Myanmar military TV has declared a state of emergency in the country for one year.
It is not just State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi who has been detained. According to a Reuters report, other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party have also been detained. While the party had won the elections by a landslide in end-2020, the army says that the detentions were a response to "election fraud". Reportedly, power has now been handed over to military chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Countries across the world have reacted with concern. "We have noted the developments in Myanmar with deep concern. India has always been steadfast in its support to the process of democratic transition in Myanmar. We believe that the rule of law and the democratic process must be upheld. We are monitoring the situation closely," India's External Affairs Ministry was quoted as saying.
White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki released a statement that the US was "alarmed" by reports that the Burmese military had "taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition". The statement added that President Biden had been briefed about the situation, and that the US was opposed to any attempt to alter the poll outcome or "impede Myanmar’s democratic transition".
The US, the statement added, was standing with the people of Burma and would "take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed".
Further details awaited.
