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Myanmar coup: what's going on with Aung San Suu Kyi right now?

The Burmese military have staged a coup against the ruling DLP Party and installed Min Aung Hlaing as new leader as a state of emergency is declared.

Update:
The Burmese military have staged a coup against the ruling DLP Party and installed Min Aung Hlaing as new leader as a state of emergency is declared.
DPA vía Europa Press

In the early hours of Monday morning the Myanmar military staged a coup in which they detained members of the democratically-elected government and declared a national state of emergency.

The powerful Myanmar military have announced the removal of 24 government ministers and deputies, while soldiers are currently patrolling the street in the capital of Nay Pyi Taw. One of those arrested was the country’s effective leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has helped Myanmar transition from military junta to partial democracy.

What happened in Myanmar?

Army leaders in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma, have staged a coup d’etat on the democratically elected government just days before the first session of the new parliament was set to commence. The first sign of trouble came in the early hours of Monday morning as a military-owned TV station announced that commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing would be taking power.

This was followed by a series of raids that focused on members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the ruling party. Aung San Suu Kyi was one of those detained, as well as President Win Myint.

As the raids were carried out by Myamar’s feared military there was little resistance to the coup and no violence has yet been reported. However the army have imposed a number of restrictions on the country, blocking roads in the capital and main city of Yangon; disrupting phone and internet services; and restricting access to both domestic and international television channels.

Following the raids the military is enforcing a curfew between 20:00 and 06:00 local time. The state of emergency announced by military leaders is reportedly set to last for one year.

Myanmar military takes charge after election dispute

Monday’s developments came after weeks of heightening tensions in the South-Asian state in the aftermath of November’s election. Suu Kyi’s party, the NLD, were overwhelming victors with a massive 83% of the vote but the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party have claimed that there were voting irregularities.

In a letter written by Suu Kyi in preparation for such an event, she called for supporters to “protest against the coup” and warned that military’s refusal to accept the election result threatened reversing the transition to democracy.

A statement posted on the NLD’s Facebook page, purportedly from Suu Kyi, read: "I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military."

The actions of the Myanmar military and detention of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Suu Kyi have been met with condemnation from many world leaders. The United States has threatened to renew sanctions on Myanmar after what it termed a "direct assault on the country's transition to democracy and the rule of law.”

A statement from President Joe Biden reads: "The United States removed sanctions on Burma over the past decade based on progress toward democracy. The reversal of that progress will necessitate an immediate review of our sanction laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action."