Army Coup In Myanmar : Aung San Suu Kyi Detained

Myanmar’s military has seized power in a coup, detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior members of the country’s ruling party after several days of rising tensions over the results of a recent election.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 75-year-old state counsellor, President Win Myint and other members of the ruling National League for Democracy party were arrested at their residences in the capital Naypyidaw early on Monday .

The announcement and the declaration of a state of emergency follows days of concern about the threat of a military coup — and military denials that it would stage one — and came on the morning the country’s new Parliament session was to begin.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy released a statement on one of its Facebook pages saying the military’s actions were unjustified and went against the constitution and the will of voters. The statement urged people to oppose Monday’s “coup” and any return to “military dictatorship.”

The coup comes after tensions rose between the civilian government and the military following a disputed election.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the military until democratic reforms began in 2011. 

Communication Cut Off :

As military leaders seized power, there were significant internet and phone network disruption across the country, which could affect the ability of people to get information or organize any response via social media.

Netblocks, which monitors internet blackouts around the world, said that real-time network data showed a major drop in connectivity in the early hours of Monday morning. Doug Madory, an analyst at Kentik, a network observability company, added on Twitter that there was a "large internet outage" unfolding.

 

"Continuing disconnections have been monitored with national connectivity falling initially to 75% and subsequently 50% of ordinary levels by 8:00 a.m. local time," according to Netblocks. 

 

Reuters reported that Myanmar state media MRTV was having technical issues and unable to broadcast, the network said. "Due to current communication difficulties we'd like to respectfully inform you that the regular programs of MRTV and Myanmar Radio cannot be broadcast," Myanmar Radio and Television said on a post on its Facebook page.