UK condemns Myanmar coup, calls for Aung San Suu Kyi's release

The UK government on Monday issued a strong condemnation of the state of emergency imposed by the Myanmar military and called for the release of all those detained unlawfully, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.Myanmar's military on Monday staged a coup and detained Suu Kyi and other top members of her governing party.

The announcement on military-controlled Myawaddy TV came after an earlier declaration that because national stability was in jeopardy, all government functions would be transferred to military chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.It was also announced that the military had taken control of the country for one year and Myanmar's leader Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) was quoted as saying in the media.

It followed an official UK government statement condemning the coup and calling for the immediate release of detained civilian leaders in the South-east Asian country.

“The UK condemns the state of emergency imposed by the Myanmar military on February 1, and the detention of members of the civilian government and civil society, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint,” a UK government spokesperson said.

The UK calls on the military to respect the rule of law and human rights, and release those unlawfully detained, the spokesperson added. 

The UK said it wants to see the peaceful reconvening of the National Assembly, respecting the results of the November 2020 general election and the “expressed wishes of the people of Myanmar”.

The coup follows a landslide election win by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).

She urged her supporters "not to accept this" and "protest against the coup".