Myanmar Military Denies Coup, Files Extra Charge against Suu Kyi

A spokesman for the junta, General Zaw Min Tun, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the military’s “objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party.”

He did not give a date for the elections, though.

The military, which has imposed a state of emergency for one year, ousted the government early this month and arrested de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her top political allies over accusations of voter fraud in favor of her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party in the November 2020 elections.

Suu Kyi, who has already been charged with importing walkie talkies, is now facing a second charge of violating the country’s Natural Disaster Law, according to her lawyer.

Lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said on Tuesday that Suu Kyi had met with a judge on a video call, but lawyers had not been able to attend because they had not been granted power of attorney.

The date of the next court hearing will be March 1, according to the lawyer.

Meanwhile, anti-coup protests continue across Myanmar, and a United Nations envoy has warned the army of “severe consequences” for any harsh response to the protest rallies.

Protesters on Tuesday blocked train services between the country’s largest city, Yangon, and the southern city of Mawlamyine.

They were holding placards in support of a civil disobedience movement, while calling for the release of Suu Kyi and other detainees.

This comes as the military deployed armored vehicles and soldiers in some major cities on the weekend.

The military has also stepped up arrests of veteran campaigners, including doctors who have joined the civil disobedience movement against the coup.

Myanmar was ruled by the military until 2011, when Suu Kyi ended the junta rule and introduced what were presented as reforms. She had been under house arrest before.

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

She supported the military in a deadly campaign of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim community in the western state of Rakhine.

Suu Kyi also defended military atrocities against the Rohingya people at the UN’s top court in The Hague in December 2019.