Image: Politico
Faizel Patel – 01/02/2021
Myanmar’s military has taken power and declared a state of emergency after detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials.
This comes after a series of early morning raids that followed days of escalating tension over the outcome of the November election in which the ruling party won by a landslide.
The Associated Press (AP) reports Myanmar military television said on Monday that the military was taking control of the country for one year.
A presenter on military-owned Myawaddy TV made the announcement and cited a section of the military-drafted constitution that allows the military to take control in times of national emergency.
He says the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud in last November’s election and its failure to postpone the election because of the coronavirus crisis.
The announcement follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup and military denials and comes on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to begin.
Myo Nyunt, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) said earlier on Monday, that Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been “taken” in the early hours of the morning.
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