Feb 1 (Reuters) – Condemnation of the coup came from Australia, Britain, the European Union, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. China called on all sides to respect the constitution and uphold stability.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the arrests, while the U.S. embassy in Yangon issued an alert warning U.S. citizens there of the “potential for civil and political unrest”.
“The United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. The military must reverse these actions immediately,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter: “I condemn the coup and unlawful imprisonment of civilians, including Aung San Suu Kyi, in Myanmar.”
“The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released,” he added.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the detention of political leaders and urged the military to “respect the will of the people,” a U.N. spokesman said.
European Council President Charles Michel said all those detained in raids across the country must be released.
“The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored,” Michel, who heads the body that represents the EU’s 27 national leaders, wrote on his Twitter account.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tokyo had strongly supported democracy in Myanmar and was against any reversal of that process.
“We strongly call on the military government to restore democracy as soon as possible,” he added in a statement.
The detentions came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military after the Nov. 8 election in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) scored a landslide win.
The army on Monday handed power to military chief Min Aung Hlaing and imposed a state of emergency for one year, according to a statement on a military-owned television station.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff: Writing by Richard Pullin, Michael Holden: Editing by Neil Fullick/ Estelle Shirbon and Alistair Smout)
