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Aung San Suu Kyi on January 27.
Photographer: Thet Aung / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Thet Aung / AFP / Getty Images
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior leaders were arrested in an early morning raid in an apparent “coup”, her party spokeswoman Myo Nyunt said. a move after the country’s military challenged its landslide victory in the November elections.
Political tensions erupt in Myanmar, raising fears of coup
Since Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory in a November 8 ballot, only the second general election after decades of military rule, the military and its political factions have called on authorities to investigate its allegations. of mass electoral fraud. Myanmar’s electoral commission last week called the vote transparent and fair, and the United States, the United Nations and the European Union urged the military to respect the results.
Senior military leaders had hinted that they were seizing power, while claiming that they were committed to working within the law. In a statement on Sunday, the Burmese military – known as Tatmadaw – denied opposing the election outcome and said it “found the 2020 election process unacceptable.”
Myanmar’s military had retained broad powers under the constitution even after a transition to democracy a decade ago, which prompted the United States and the European Union to lift sanctions against the Asian country. from the South East. But the initial optimism that sparked a wave of interest from foreign investors quickly dissipated due to a violent crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims that sparked “genocide” charges against Suu Kyi’s government. .
The treatment of the Rohingya has tarnished the international image of Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest during a military rule that effectively cut Myanmar off from the world.
In the November elections, Suu Kyi’s NLD won 396 seats in the National Assembly, more than the 322 needed to form a government. The turnout was estimated at 70% of the 37.3 million people eligible to vote. The ruling party also won 524 seats in elections to state and regional parliaments, according to official data.
(Updates with more background)
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