Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi says military reinstating ‘dictatorship’ after arrests of democratically elected leaders

Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s democratically elected ruling party, has called on her compatriots to protest against military control after a coup was staged in the early hours of Monday morning.

The South-East Asian nation’s new Parliament was due to meet on Monday for the first time since the National League for Democracy (NLD) party won the November election in a landslide.

Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other officials were detained by the military before the meeting.

Tension had been high in the country since the November election, which the military alleged was fraudulent.

The NLD released a statement on Monday, saying Ms Suu Kyi was urging the public to protest against the coup.

“The actions of the military are actions to put the country back under a dictatorship,” the statement carrying Ms Suu Kyi’s name read.

“I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military.”

About an hour earlier, a spokesperson for the military said the commander in chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, would rule the country for the next year.

The statement was broadcast on the military-owned Myawaddy Television station.

The military, known as the Tatmadaw, has alleged there was massive voting fraud in the election, though it has failed to provide proof.

“The voter lists which were used during the multi-party general election which was held on November 8 were found to have huge discrepancies and the Union Election Commission failed to settle this matter,” the spokesperson said.

“Although the sovereignty of the nation must derive from the people, there was terrible fraud in the voter list during the democratic general election, which runs contrary to ensuring a stable democracy.

“In order to perform scrutiny of the voter lists and to take action, the authority of the nation’s law making, governance and jurisdiction is handed over to the Commander in Chief in accordance with the 2008 constitution … The state of emergency is effective nationwide and the duration of the state of emergency is set for one year, starting from the date this order is announced in line with article 417 of the 2008 constitution.”

The state Union Election Commission last week rejected the allegations of fraud.

When the first reports of the coup were made, phone lines to Naypyidaw, the capital, were not reachable.

State-run MRTV television said in a Facebook post earlier this morning it was unable to broadcast due to technical issues.

Political tension rose sharply in days before coup

On Friday, a group of Western powers, including the United States, issued a joint statement warning against “any attempt to alter the outcome of the elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition”.

In a statement on Sunday, the military accused the foreign diplomats of making “unwarranted assumptions”.

An NLD politician, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, said another of those detained on Monday morning was Han Thar Myint, a member of the party’s central executive committee.

Ms Suu Kyi, 75, came to power after a 2015 landslide election win following decades of house arrest in a struggle for democracy that turned her into an international icon and saw her win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Her international standing was damaged after hundreds of thousands of members of the Rohingya minority fled army operations in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state in 2017, but she remains hugely popular at home.

The NLD beat a pro-military party in the November election.

Ms Suu Kyi’s party captured 396 out of 476 seats in the combined Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament, far above the 322 needed to secure a majority.

But the army-drafted constitution of 2008 grants the military 25 per cent of the total seats, enough to block constitutional changes.

Several key ministerial positions are also reserved for military appointees.

Amid bickering over the allegations, the military ramped up political tension last week when a spokesman declined to rule out the possibility of a coup.

Major General Zaw Min Tun elaborated by saying the military would “follow the laws in accordance with the constitution”.

Using similar language, the military’s commander in chief said the constitution could be revoked if the laws were not being properly enforced.

Adding to the concern was the unusual deployment of armoured vehicles in the streets of several large cities.

International community speaks out against military action

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the reports from Myanmar were “troubling”.

“These are rather disturbing developments,” Mr Morrison said.

“We’ve been a long-standing supporter of Myanmar’s democratic transition, including the election in November.”

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

But unlike Mr Biden’s spokeswoman, Mr Morrison did not directly criticise the Burmese military or threaten retaliation.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said she was “deeply concerned” about the reports.

“We call on the military to respect the rule of law, to resolve disputes through lawful mechanisms and to release immediately all civilian leaders and others who have been detained unlawfully,” Ms Payne said in a statement.

Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch John Sifton said Myanmar’s military had never submitted to civilian rule.

He called on the United States and other countries to impose “strict and directed economic sanctions” on the military leadership and its economic interests.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, also called for the international community to take actions against Myanmar.

“The military’s actions show utter disdain for the democratic elections held in November and the right of Myanmar’s people to choose their own government,” he said.

“The military should recognise that it will be held accountable for its actions, including any mistreatment in custody and excessive use of force.

“We urge concerned governments to speak out forcefully against the military’s actions and consider targeted sanctions against those responsible.”

ABC/Reuters