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Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted head of Myanmar’s civilian government, was accused on Wednesday of illegally importing communications equipment, two days after the military seized power in what the United States called a Rebellion.
She will be held at least until February 15 on charges related to alleged possession of illegal walkie-talkies, according to a police statement seen by Reuters. NBC News was unable to verify the police statement.
Kyi Toe, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, confirmed the accusation on his Facebook page. He added that the country’s president, Win Myint, who was also arrested on Monday, has been accused of breaking laws on dealing with natural disasters.
The military arrested Suu Kyi and other officials and declared a one-year state of emergency on Monday, the day before lawmakers were to begin a new term.
The news comes as health workers across the country announced they would not support the new government and wore red ribbons to show dissent. On Tuesday evening, people across Myanmar banged pots and pans and honked car horns in civil disobedience against the military junta.
Suu Kyi on Monday urged people across the country to oppose the military takeover in a statement prepared ahead of his detention.
The charges against Suu Kyi came as international condemnation of the military takeover in the country of 55 million people increased. The G7 rich country group, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom and France, on Wednesday said it was “deeply concerned” about the detention of political leaders and civil society activists and the targeting of media.
The G7 also called on the military to respect the outcome of the November elections, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won 83% of the vote. The country’s electoral commission dismissed the allegations of irregularity.
The past two months have seen tensions escalate, with the military claiming the election was fraudulent.
The Biden administration’s statement that the military takeover was a coup will trigger a review of U.S. foreign aid to Myanmar, which is expected to receive around $ 100 million in U.S. aid this year.
However, much of this aid is direct humanitarian and economic aid, and few of those funds are expected to be limited by the new review.
On Tuesday, the United Nations envoy to Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, urged the UN Security Council to “collectively send a clear signal in favor of democracy in Myanmar”.
Suu Kyi spent 15 years as a political prisoner between 1989 and 2010. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize in absentia for defending democracy and rights under the ruling junta.
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However, its reputation has been tarnished by its failure to condemn the military for a brutal campaign against the Rohyinga Muslim minority, which many analysts consider genocide. In 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of houses.
Some Rohingyas, already reluctant to return to Myanmar, are now even more uncertain.
“Now, if we get back into the hands of those responsible for our torture, we will probably have to endure twice as much suffering as before,” Mohammad Jaffar, 70, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
In addition to Suu Kyi and other officials, there is evidence that political activists are also targeted by the military. Activist and former political prisoner Mya Aye was arrested by the military on Monday, according to his daughter Wai Hnin Pwint Thon. His arrest was captured on neighborhood CCTV.
“We haven’t heard where he is, how he is or how long he’s going to be there,” she told NBC News.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this article
Bianca Britton and Zixu Wang contributed.
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