Myanmar Leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Others Detained by Military
By VOA News
January 31, 2021 06:40 PM

FILE - Police block a road in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, Jan. 29, 2021, ahead of the reopening of the parliament on Feb. 1 following the November 2020 elections which Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won by a landslide.
Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other ruling party officials were detained Monday in a move that raised concerns of a possible coup.
The early-morning detentions came on the same day the new parliament was supposed to be inaugurated.
Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were taken early Monday, said the spokesman for the ruling party, the National League for Democracy.
"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," spokesman Myo Nyunt said Monday, adding that he expected to be detained as well.
“As far as we know, all the important people have been arrested by the Burmese military,” he said. “So, now we can say it is coup d'état. In Naypyidaw, Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint has been arrested, I heard. But we are not sure about members of Parliament in municipality compound, but we can assume that they have been arrested, too.”
In a statement, the White House said, “The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition,” adding that the U.S. urges “the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today.”
“The United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar’s democratic transition and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed,” the statement said.
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