Myanmar coup: Nations decry ‘chilling’ military takeover as US vows to take action

Amnesty International warns violence and extrajudicial killings have marked past takeovers and urged armed forces to exercise restraint

Reactions to Myanmar’s military coup have poured in from concerned world leaders after raids in the southeast Asian country on Monday saw members of its ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) taken from their homes and detained.  

Joe Biden’s administration led the charge in condemning the scenes of violence – some of which were filmed and released on social media, showing politicians arrested in the middle of the night – threatening to take action against those responsible.  

“The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country's democratic transition, including the arrest of state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, noting Mr Biden had been briefed on the situation.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, had been led by Nobel laureate Ms Suu Kyi’s party since it secured a landslide victory in the 8 November 2020 election. The country’s military quickly accused the NLD of election fraud, but had zero evidence to substantiate the claims.  

Military television inside the country on Monday said troops were taking back control for one year, declaring a state of emergency. It came on the same day Myanmar’s parliament was to convene with new members sworn in following last year’s election.

“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,” Ms Psaki said on Monday.

Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, also released a statement from Washington. “The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately,” he said.  

Taking a less direct approach, an official spokesperson for China – Myanmar’s so-called “friendly neighbour” – said it had noted what happened.

“We hope that all parties in [the country] will properly handle their differences under the constitutional and legal framework and maintain political and social stability,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.

While China’s ruling Communist Party tends to favour fellow authoritarian regimes, it has had a less than stable relationship with Myanmar’s military over the years – at times related to the drug trade along their mountainous border.

Meanwhile, various countries from inside the EU criticised the coup as a human rights violation.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas slated the military’s actions for “jeopardising all the progress made on the path to democratic change in Myanmar”, referring to years-long work to establish a functioning democracy inside Myanmar.

Foreign ministries in Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic all weighed in, releasing statements to say each supported the will of the population that clearly emerged in the last elections”.  

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen joined the ranks too, demanding: “Legitimate civilian government must be restored, in line with the country's constitution and the November elections.”

Following the coup, tanks rolled out on the streets of Myanmar while internet and phone services took a hit for a few hours – but were soon reinstated – prompting Boris Johnson to tweet: “The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released.”

And in a move likely to be considered distasteful, Bangladesh released a statement to say it likewise called for peace and stability in Myanmar but hoped the incident would not slow down efforts to move forward the process of Rohingya Muslim refugees being repatriated to their rightful home.

Parts of predominantly Muslim Bangladesh have sheltered some 1 million Rohingyas, who fled violence in the Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most of them are denied citizenship, since the 1970s. The latest mass exodus took place in 2017, driving more than 742,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh.  

“We expect these processes to continue in right earnest,” Bangladesh’s ministry of foreign affairs told Reuters on Monday, as news of the coup broke.