Coup: US threatens sanctions over Aung San Suu Kyi detention

US threatens sanctions over Aung San Suu Kyi detention
The US removed previous sanctions as Myanmar progressed to democracy. Source: Reuters
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Daily US Times: Joe Biden has threatened to reinstate sanctions in Myanmar after the country’s military staged a coup and seized power.

Myanmar’s army detained the de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected leaders, accusing Ms Suu Kyi’s party NLD of fraud over its recent landslide election win.

Mr Biden said in a statement that “force should never seek to overrule the will of the people or attempt to erase the outcome of a credible election”.

The United Nations and the United Kingdom have also condemned the coup.

The United States had removed sanctions over the past decade as Myanmar progressed to democracy. President Biden said this would be urgently reviewed, adding: “The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Myanmar’s army’s coup a “serious blow to democratic reforms”, as the security council prepared for an emergency meeting.

The United Nations demanded the release of what it said were at least 45 people who had been detained.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the coup and Aung San Suu Kyi’s “unlawful imprisonment” and European Union leaders have issued similar condemnations.

China, which has previously opposed international intervention in Myanmar, urged all sides in the country to “resolve differences”.

Some regional powers, including Cambodia and the Philippines, have said it is an “internal matter”.

Troops are patrolling the streets in Myanmar and a night-time curfew is in force, with a one-year state of emergency declared.

Ms Suu Kyi has urged her supporters to “protest against the coup”.

In a letter written in preparation for her impending detention, Suu Kyi said the military’s actions would put the country back under a dictatorship.

The Myanmar military has already announced replacements for a number of ministers.

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