Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, urged people across the country to stand up and oppose a military takeover that saw the army take control of the country on Monday.
Suu Kyi and other senior officials were arrested earlier, a day before lawmakers elected in November started a new legislature.
“I urge people not to accept this, to respond and protest wholeheartedly against the military coup,” said a statement bearing Suu Kyi’s name, but not his signature. “Only people are important.”
A handwritten note at the end of the statement posted on Facebook by the Suu Kyi National League for Democracy, or NLD, said it was written before Monday in anticipation of the army’s seizure of power.
The NLD obtained 83% of the vote in the November election and the country’s electoral commission rejected allegations of impropriety. The army has declared a state of emergency for a year and says it will hold elections after that.
Military leader Min Aung-Hliang will now head the government, according to Myawaddy TV, which is controlled by the army. The military said they took control of the country in response to “electoral fraud”.
United States Department of State confirmed local reports that some internet connections dropped, while the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Yangon, said on Twitter the road to the city’s main airport was closed.
Troops and riot police were in Yangon, where residents rushed to the markets to stock up on supplies while others lined up at ATMs to withdraw money.
Yangon-based restaurateur Koki Nakajima, 34, told NBC News that he saw supporters of the Burmese army celebrating the coup on platform trucks in the city while playing loud music.
The military, who drafted the 2008 Myanmar constitution, takes 25 percent of the country’s parliamentary seats, in addition to controlling the ministries of defense, interior and borders.
The military-owned television ad cited the country’s constitution, which allows the military to take control in times of emergency. The announcer said the coronavirus crisis and the government’s failure to postpone the November elections were the reasons for the emergency.
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The military drafted the constitution in 2008 and maintain power under the charter at the expense of the democratic and civilian government. International activist Human Rights Watch, based in New York, described the clause as a “coup-waiting mechanism”.
The acquisition was quickly condemned outside the country. The US, UK, European Union, Australia and Singapore have called for the release of Suu Kyi.
“The United States is on the side of the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace and development,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, using the name of the country until it was changed by the governing military junta in 1989.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “great concern about declaring the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military”.
Monday saw pro-Suu Kyi protests take place in Bangkok, Thailand, where protesters waged a long campaign against military influence in Thai society.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Asia at Human Rights Watch, called for military justification for the acquisition of a “fabricated excuse”.
“Our worst nightmare has come true,” he said.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, 75, won an overwhelming electoral victory in 2015 after 15 years of house arrest.
Her reputation has been tarnished after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled the army’s persecution in 2017, but she remains popular at home.
Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a human rights activist in Yangon, called what was happening a repeat of history in reference to the 1990 overwhelming election of the NLD.
“The military used the same tactics when they did not agree with the result of an election,” she said.
“We are concerned about the duration of this coup,” he added. “Before, when they did it in 1962, it lasted decades.”
Patrick Smith reported from London, Rhea Mogul reported from Hong Kong.
Reuters contributed to this article.
Dawn Liu and Eric Baculinao contributed.