Myanmar coup: Suu Kyi detained, state of emergency declared. Here's what you should know
Melissa Fernando
Februari 1, 2021 18:06 MYT
Februari 1, 2021 18:06 MYT
Suu Kyis NLD won a landlide victory in the November 8th election, securing 396 out of 476 seats, which allows the party to form a government for the next five years. REUTERS file pic
MYANMAR'S governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has been taken into custody in a raid by the military.
Here's what we know so far.
WHAT’S GOING ON?
• Myanmar's military has taken control of the country after Suu Kyi and other political leaders were arrested in the early hours of Monday.
• The military confirmed that a state of emergency had been declared for one year.
• In the latest updates, power had been handed to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
• According to local reports, other members of the ruling NLD have also been detained.
• Family members said, chief ministers in several regions were taken away from their homes.
• The moves have triggered fear that a coup in underway, as the military denounced the recent election results, which has sparked tensions between the military and the civilian government.
• Communications has been interrupted. Mobile internet data connections seem to have been cut or hampered in the capital city Naypyitaw as well as other provinces. The state broadcaster MRTV is off air, reportedly due to some technical issues.
• Soldiers are on the streets of Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.
WHY NOW?
• The newly elected lower house of parliament was due to convene for the first time on Monday but the military was calling for a postponement.
• Suu Kyi’s NLD won a landslide victory in the November 8 election, securing 396 out of 476 seats (83% of available seats), which allows the party to form a government for the next five years.
• It was the second election since the end of military rule in 2011.
• The army filed complaints against the president and the chair of the electoral commission at the Supreme Court, disputing the results claiming the votes were fraudulent, claiming there were repeated names on voting lists in scores of districts.
• But the allegations were overruled by the election commission last Thursday, as they said there were no errors on that scale that could result in a fraud or the election being discredited.
WHAT DOES THE CONSTITUTION SAY?
• Just last week, the military agreed to abide by the constitution which it outlined more than a ten years ago.
• According to the constitution, the army does have substantial powers to declare a state of emergency, however, only in extreme situations that could affect "disintegration of the union, disintegration of national solidarity and loss of sovereign power". It says the commander-in-chief can take power during a state of emergency.
BACKGROUND
• Myanmar, which is previously known as Burma, was under the rule of the military until 2011.
• In 2015, Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, 75, came to power after landslide election win followed by years of house arrest that made her an international icon in the fight for democracy.
• Although in 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled army operations into refuge from Myanmar's western Rakhine state, damaging her international standing, Suu Kyi remains exceptionally popular at home.
• Since it was the military who created Myanmar's 2008 constitution, it sees itself as the guardian of national unity and the constitution, establishing a permanent role for itself in the political system.
• It gets an unelected quota of 25% of parliamentary seats and it controls the defence, interior and borders ministries, ensuring an important stake in politics.
HOW DID THE NLD, OTHER PARTIES REACT?
• According to NLD, Suu Kyi issued a pre-emptive call for people to reject any coup, prior to her arrest by the army on Monday morning.
• Suu Kyi urged the people "not to accept a coup", via a message that was posted post on the official Facebook page of the chair of the National League for Democracy.
• She did not comment on her party's election victory, nor on the military's complaints, but the NLD said the military's accusations were baseless and any election flaws would not have changed the outcome.