(Eagle News) — Myanmar Vice-President Myint Swe, a former general who ran the powerful Yangon military command, was declared the Acting President after a military coup staged on February 1, 2021 in Myanmar where the country’s de facto leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the country’s president Win Myint had been detained.
Acting President Myint Swe then issued a statement transferring legislative, administrative and judicial power to Myanmar General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, who has been declared the “state leader” of Myanmar.
In the statement, Swe declared that responsibility for “legislation, administration and judiciary” had been transferred to Min Aung Hlaing, the This effective returned Myanmar back to military rule.
An announcement read out on military-owned Myawaddy TV said the one year military rule was needed to preserve the “stability” of the state, accusing the country’s election commission of failing to address “huge irregularities” in a November election.
The military has also detained other civilian officers of Myanmar.
The military take-over of the country was widely condemned by world leaders, with the United States and other countries demanding the immediate release of Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other regional ministers of Myanmar.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guteres strongly condemned the military detention of the Myanmar civilian leaders.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the detention of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint and other political leaders on the eve of the opening session of Myanmar’s new parliament,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
“These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar, he added.”
(with a report from Agence France Presse)
