Blinken, Psaki and Johnson tweet on Myanmar

Politicians and world leaders on Monday reacted to the Myanmar military's move to seize control of the country for one year. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he condemned the coup and "unlawful imprisonment" of civilians and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was reportedly detained alongside other senior politicians.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed "grave concern" and urged the military to "reverse" their actions immediately. The coup follows a landslide election win by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy last November. An announcement on military-owned Myawaddy TV said the reason for takeover was in part due to the government’s failure to act on the military’s claims of voter fraud during the election and its failure to postpone the vote because of the coronavirus crisis.

The takeover is a sharp reversal of the partial yet significant progress toward democracy Myanmar made in recent years following five decades of military rule and international isolation that began in 1962. It would also be shocking fall from power for Suu Kyi, who led the democracy struggle despite years under house arrest and and won a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts.

(Image Credit: AP)