Suu Kyi, who was the de facto leader of the country under the title of state adviser, was issued an arrest warrant for violating the country’s import and export laws.
National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Kyi Toe posted on his Facebook account on Wednesday that Suu Kyi will be detained until February 15.
“According to reliable information, a 14-day arrest warrant has been issued against Daw Aung San Su Kyi under the Import and Export Act,” he said.
Deposed president Win Myint was also detained under the country’s disaster management law, Kyi Toe said.
Numerous senior lawmakers and officials from the ruling National League for Democracy Party (NLD) were also detained, with about 400 in a boarding house in the capital.
The new ruling junta reaffirmed its rule, removing 24 minsters and deputies from the government and naming 11 of its own allies as replacements to take up their roles in a new government.
The sudden takeover came as the new parliament was due to open and after months of increasing friction between the civilian government and the powerful military known as the Tatmadaw over alleged election irregularities.
Suu Kyi’s party, the NLD, claimed an overwhelming victory in the November 2020 elections, only the second since the end of military rule, with 83% of the vote, giving it another five years in government.
The country’s electoral commission has repeatedly denied that massive voter fraud has taken place.
Analysts have suggested that the coup was more about the military’s attempt to reassert its power and the personal ambition of Army Chief Min Aung Hlaing, who was due to step down this year, than serious claims of voter fraud.
After the coup, doctors from hospitals across the country were prepared to protest, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Assistant doctors at Yangon General Hospital released a statement pledging their participation in the “civil disobedience movement” stating that they will not work under an army-led government and calling for the release of Suu Kyi.
Video showed medical workers in Yangon outside the hospital on Wednesday dressed in their scrubs and protective gear, while wearing red ribbons.
Myanmar’s Ministry of Information warned the media and the public on Tuesday not to spread social media rumors or create unrest, and urged people to cooperate with the government following Monday’s coup.
“Some media outlets and the public are spreading rumors on social media that hold rallies to stir up noisiness and make statements that could cause unrest,” the statement said. “We want to urge the public not to perform these acts and to notify the public to cooperate with the government in accordance with existing laws.”
In Myanmar, concern about what’s to come is growing and many in the country have urged the international community to step up government pressure.
Formerly known as Burma, Myanmar has been ruled for over 50 years by successive isolationist military regimes that plunged the country into poverty and brutally suppressed any dissent. Thousands of critics, activists, journalists, academics and artists were routinely imprisoned and tortured at the time.
Suu Kyi rose to prominence during her decades-long struggle against military rule. When her party, the NLD, won a landslide in the 2015 elections and formed the first civilian government, many pro-democracy supporters hoped it would break with the military rule of the past and hoped Myanmar would continue to reform.
“We know the military cannot be trusted to respect human rights and the rule of law in Burma,” said Bo Kyi, co-founder of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. “When the military was last in charge, political prisoners like me were rounded up, sent to prison for decades, placed in solitary confinement and tortured. We are concerned that if this state of emergency is not reversed, similar things will happen again.” added Kyi, who is also a former political prisoner.
“There is a fear that the military could continue to prosecute officials, activists and take down ordinary people. But we have hope that Burma can get back on its democratic path.”