UN chief vows to rally global pressure to ensure Myanmar coup fails

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged to increase international pressure on Myanmar to ensure the failure of the recent military coup in the Southeast Asian country.

"We will do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails," Guterres said in an interview with The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Guterres further expressed hope that democracy would be able to make progress in Myanmar and the will of the people would be respected.

"After elections that I believe took place normally and after a large period of transition, it's absolutely unacceptable to reverse the results of the elections and the will of the people," he said.

The UN chief's remarks come as the UN Security Council is trying to negotiate a statement on the crisis in Myanmar.

As of Wednesday evening, according to diplomats, negotiations were continuing between the 15 Council members to agree on a common statement about Myanmar's coup.

Myanmar's military staged a coup and detained de facto leader Suu Kyi as well as some of her party members on Monday. The military handed power to General Min Aung Hlaing and imposed a state of emergency for a year.

The coup leaders accused Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party of massive voter fraud in the November 2020 elections, which gave it a landslide victory.

The military also disrupted internet and telephone connections early on Monday morning.

Suu Kyi was charged on Wednesday for illegally importing communications equipment. Security forces claimed walkie-talkie radios had been found in a search of her home in the capital, Naypyidaw.

Myanmar's military says has 'detained' Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid.

Police also filed a request with a court asking for Suu Kyi's detention "in order to question witnesses, request evidence, and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant."

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), a group of legislators from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, described the charges against Suu Kyi as ludicrous.

"This is an absurd move by the junta to try to legitimize their illegal power grab," APHR chairman and Malaysian MP Charles Santiago said in a statement, urging the international community to intervene.

Police also filed charges against ousted President Win Myint for offences under the Disaster Management Law.

Anti-coup protest on streets of Myanmar

Meanwhile, a group of protesters have taken to the streets in Myanmar's second city of Mandalay to voice their opposition against the military takeover of government.

Images and videos on social media showed around 20 people waving banners and chanting anti-coup slogans outside Mandalay Medical University on Thursday.

Separately on Thursday, Myanmar's military government blocked Facebook and other social media platforms in a bid to quell dissent and civil disobedience.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi urged people to 'resist' military coup before arrest

Myanmar

Facebook, used by about half of Myanmar's 53 million people, has emerged as a key platform for opposition to the coup.

The social media platform is also a crucial means of communication for businesses and government.

Myanmar was ruled by the military until 2011, when Suu Kyi ended the junta rule and introduced what were presented as reforms.

Her party, however, cultivated close relations with the military from the beginning of its activity and formed an alliance with senior military officers.

Suu Kyi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her resistance against the military and was held under house arrest for 15 years, faces international scrutiny for her support later for a military crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim people in the western state of Rakhine.

She defended the military atrocities against the Rohingya people at the United Nations (UN)’s top court in The Hague in December 2019.

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