Myanmar's military says it's taking over as world leaders look on in shock

FILE PHOTO: Photos of Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi are seen in a shop in Yangon

Reuters

• The military of Myanmar said it would be taking control of the country for the next year.
• Earlier on Monday, several top government officials, including Aun San Suu Kyi and president Win Myint, were rounded up.
• Global diplomatic leaders are expressing outrage and dismay at the move. 
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Myanmar's military announced on Monday that it would be taking over the country for at least a year, citing massive voter fraud as justification for the coup.

The announcement was made on the military-owned television channel Myawaddy TV, and followed the detainment of several top Myanmar politicians, including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar President Win Myint. Members of the ruling National League for Democracy were also taken into custody, according to the Associated Press. The newly elected parliament was due to meet on Monday for the first time since the election. 

Myanmar Vice President Myint Swe, a former general who is backed by the military, is currently heading up the government.

In the country's last election in November, the National League for Democracy won 396 out of 476 parliamentary seats, while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won just 33 seats. 

The military, known as the Tatmadaw, claimed there was massive voter fraud, and on January 26 released a list of corruption allegations. They claimed there were 8.6 million instances of "voter irregularities" among a population of 54 million. 

The claims were rejected by the country's election commission, according to the AP. 

Myanmar's citizens woke up on Monday to a media blackout. 

—Winnie Thaw 🥲🥸 (@ThawWinnie) February 1, 2021

As news of the coup spread across the country, citizens lined up at banks to pull their cash out. Residents in the city of Yangon reported that area ATMs had run out of cash.

World leaders expressed shock and outrage at the military takeover.

"We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8," Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted. "The military must reverse these actions immediately."

United Nations' Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the coup represents "a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar."

UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir tweeted: "I call for immediate release of detained political leaders. Attempts to undermine #democracy and rule of law are unacceptable. Military leaders must adhere to democratic norms and respect public institutions and civilian authority."

In a statement on Monday, the military said the international community "should not be endorsing the next steps of the political process on a business-as-usual basis without understanding actual events," according to the Myanmar Times.

Sen. Bob Menendez, the incoming Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recommended the US impose sanctions on Myanmar, "as well as other measures, against the Tatmadaw and the military leadership of Burma."

Myanmar's military ran the country until 2015, when it began transitioning toward a democratic model. In recent years, Aung San Suu Kyi, who was hailed as a humanitarian hero and presented with a Nobel Peace Prize while under house arrest in 1991, has been criticized for her imprisonment and torture of the Rohingya ethnic minority. 

 

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