It comes as Myanmar faces a growing coronavirus outbreak. Western countries had greeted the move toward democracy enthusiastically, removing sanctions they had in place for years. The coup highlights the extent to which the generals ultimately maintained control in Myanmar, despite more than a decade of talk about democratic reforms.
It claimed the takeover was legal under the constitution. The military said the seizure was necessary because the government had not acted on the military’s unsubstantiated claims of fraud in November’s election, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a majority of seats. The coup came as lawmakers gathered in the capital for the opening of a new parliamentary session. His comments couldn’t immediately be confirmed. He said Suu Kyi was in good health at a separate location where she was being held and would stay there for the time being. The military began to lift restrictions Tuesday on the hundreds of members of Parliament who had been confined at a guarded government housing complex, with the new government telling them to go back to their homes, party spokesman Kyi Toe said. “All the voters who gave their backing to us in the 2020 general election should follow Aung San Suu Kyi’s instructions to carry out civil disobedience,” he said, referring to a note posted Monday on Facebook attributed to her. I feel sad and upset for our fellow citizens and for their future,” the former political prisoner said. “The curse of the coup is rooted in our country, and this is the reason why our country still remains poor. Win Htein, a leader of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, spoke Tuesday from a small party office in the capital, Naypyitaw, not far from where hundreds of lawmakers elected in November national polls were detained when the military seized power Monday in a lightning takeover. The junta has long justified its power takeover by alleging fraud in last year's elections, which Suu Kyi's party swept in an apparent landslide, and have vowed to hold fresh polls in 2023.People in Myanmar honk horns, bang on pots to protest coup Close MenuĪ senior politician and close confidante of Suu Kyi also urged citizens to defy the military through civil disobedience. It confirmed three people were injured - with one sustaining serious wounds - and 11 were arrested for "having a protest without asking for permission". State-run MRTV news reported that security forces "took action" on the protesters, though it made no mention of soldiers using a vehicle to collide with them. "The soldiers then pointed their guns at us and ordered all the bystanders to leave, so we had to leave," the resident added. Soldiers then started beating three people knocked over by the vehicle, a 26-year-old resident alleged. One protester appeared to have been seriously wounded, said another person at the scene, and was taken with two others - one of them a Myanmar journalist - away in an ambulance. "Then the soldiers jumped out of the car and started shooting," he said.
He said a handful of people, some carrying banners in support of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, were hit and splayed on the ground as others fled the scene. "They increased the speed when they got closer to the protesters - it was like they drove into them," he said, declining to provide his name for security reasons. The rally in Yangon was violently dispersed Sunday morning when a large car ploughed into it, according to a journalist there. More than 10 months of military rule has seen some 1,300 killed rallying against the army but small, highly mobile protests still crop up. The country has been in turmoil since February when the military seized power, triggering nationwide demonstrations which the junta sought to quell with violent crackdowns and mass arrests. Myanmar soldiers wounded at least three people after ramming a car into a peaceful anti-coup rally in Yangon, eyewitnesses said Sunday.