YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Hundreds of members of Myanmar’s parliament were imprisoned in their government residences in the country’s capital on Tuesday, a day after the military staged a coup and detained senior politicians including Nobel laureate and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
One of the lawmakers said he and 400 MPs were able to talk to each other within the compound and communicate with their constituencies by phone, but not to leave the residential complex in Naypyitaw. He said the police were inside the complex and there were soldiers outside.
The legislature said the politicians, made up of members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and several smaller parties, spent a sleepless night, worried they would be taken away, but were otherwise okay.
“We had to stay awake and be alert,” said the legislator, speaking out of concern about his safety on condition of anonymity.
The takeover was brought about by morning lawmakers from across the country who had gathered in the capital for the opening of the new parliamentary session and after days of worrying a coup d’etat would come. The military said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military’s allegations of fraud in the November elections – in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of parliamentary seats – and because it closed the election. continued despite the coronavirus pandemic.
An announcement read on Myawaddy TV on Monday said Commander in Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing would be in charge of the country for a year. Late Monday, the cabinet of the commander-in-chief announced the names of new ministers. The 11-member cabinet is composed of military generals, former military generals and former advisers to a previous government led by former General Thein Sein.
The coup is a dramatic setback for Myanmar, which grew out of decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It is now a test for the international community, which had rejected Myanmar while under military rule and then embraced it enthusiastically. Suu Kyi’s government as a sign that the country was finally moving towards democracy. US President Joe Biden threatened new sanctions, which the country had previously faced.
On Tuesday, the streets in Yangon, the country’s largest city, were quieter than normal, but taxis and buses were still running and there were no outward signs of heavy security.
The English-language Myanmar Times headlined the state of emergency, while other state newspapers showed front-page photos of Monday’s National Defense and Security Council meeting, which newly appointed acting president Myint Swe and Min Aung Hlaing attended with other military officials.
The military has maintained that its actions are legally justified – citing part of the constitution it drafted, which allows it to take control in times of national emergencies – although Suu Kyi’s party spokesman and many international observers have said it amounts to a coup d’état.
The takeover marks a shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate who had lived under house arrest for years while trying to push her country towards democracy and then became the de facto leader after her party won the 2015 election.
Suu Kyi had been a fierce critic of the military during her years in detention. But after her shift from democracy icon to politician, she had to work with the generals, who, despite allowing elections, had never completely given up power.
While the 75-year-old has remained popular at home, Suu Kyi’s deference to the generals – going so far as to defend their crackdown on Rohingya Muslims who have called the United States and others genocide – has tarnished her reputation abroad.
The coup was internationally condemned and many countries called for the release of the detained leaders.
Biden called the military’s actions “a direct attack on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law” and said Washington would not hesitate to reinstate sanctions.
“The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is attacked,” he said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the developments “a serious blow to democratic reform,” his spokesman said. The Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the military’s actions – likely Tuesday, according to Britain, which currently holds the chairmanship of the council.