YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Hundreds of Myanmar parliament members were confined to their government housing in the country’s capital on Tuesday, a day after the army staged a coup and senior politicians, including Nobel laureate and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detained.
One lawmaker said he and 400 MPs could talk to each other in the building and communicate by telephone with their constituencies, but they were not allowed to leave the housing complex in Naypyitaw. He said police were inside the complex and soldiers were out.
According to the legislature, the politicians, consisting of members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and various smaller parties, spent a sleepless night worrying that they would be taken away, but otherwise were fine.
“We had to stay awake and vigilant,” said the lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for his safety.
The takeover comes as lawmakers across the country gathered in the capital for the opening of the new parliament and follows days of concern that a coup would come. The military said the seizure was necessary because the government did not act in the November election – in which Suu Kyi’s ruling party won a majority of parliamentary seats – and because it allowed the election to proceed. the coronavirus pandemic.
In an announcement read on Myawaddy TV on Monday, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing is being put in charge for one year. Late Monday, the commander – in – chief’s office announced the names of new cabinet ministers. The 11-member cabinet consists 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, arising from decades of strict military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It now provides a test for the international community that wiped out Myanmar while under military rule and then enthusiastically embraced. Suu Kyi’s government was a sign that the country was finally on the path to democracy. US President Joe Biden has threatened new sanctions, which the country has previously faced.
On Tuesday in Yangon, the largest city in the country, the streets were quieter than usual, but taxis and buses were still driving and there were no outward signs of great safety.
The English-language Myanmar Times recorded the state of emergency, while other state newspapers showed front-page photos of Monday’s National Defense and Security Council meeting, attended by newly appointed acting presidents Myint Swe and Min Aung Hlaing along with other military officials.
The military has maintained that its actions are legally justified – referring to a section of the constitution it drafted that allows it to take control in times of national emergency – although the spokesman for the Suu Kyi party as well as many international observers said it amounted to a coup.
The takeover marks a shocking fall in power for Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, who lived under house arrest for years when she tried to push her country towards democracy and when she became de facto leader after her party in 2015. won elections.
Suu Kyi was 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 the fact that the election was allowed, never completely gave up power.
While the 75-year-old remained popular at home, Suu Kyi’s respect for the generals – who go so far as to defend their repression against Rohingya Muslims that the United States and others have branded a genocide – has earned her reputation in the obstructing abroad.
The coup was met with international condemnation and many countries demanded the release of the detained leaders.
Biden calls the military’s actions a direct attack on the country’s transition to democracy and the rule of law ‘and says Washington will not hesitate to restore sanctions.
“The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is attacked,” he said in a statement.
According to UN spokesman Antonio Guterres, the development called for a “serious blow to democratic reforms”. The Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on military action – likely on Tuesday, according to Britain, who is currently holding the presidency.