ASEAN IN FOCUS

US determines Myanmar army carried out coup, blocking aid

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Washington formally determined Tuesday that Myanmar’s military carried out a coup, legally requiring an end to US assistance to the government. “We have assessed that the Burmese military’s actions on February 1, having deposed the duly elected government, constituted a military coup d’etat,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, using Myanmar’s former name of Burma. “The United States will continue to work closely with our partners throughout the region […]

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Vietnam Covid cluster caused by UK variant

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — A fresh wave of coronavirus infections in Vietnam was caused by a more contagious variant spotted in Britain, authorities said Tuesday, as they rushed to contain the country’s most serious ever outbreak. Schools have been shut early ahead of the Lunar New Year and hundreds of thousands of people are in lockdown after more than 300 cases were detected in less than a week. The government said 12 cases have so […]

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Myanmar coup just a ‘cabinet reshuffle’: Chinese state media

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — The military takeover in Myanmar and detention of Aung San Suu Kyi was “a major cabinet reshuffle” according to Chinese state media, who rolled out the euphemisms to avoid calling a coup a coup. As democratic leaders around the world slammed the Burmese military and President Joe Biden said the US was “taking note” of who was standing up for Myanmar’s people, China’s communist leadership took a softly-softly approach. Beijing […]

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Ousted Myanmar party calls for release of Suu Kyi, other leaders

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s ousted National League for Democracy party called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders on Tuesday, describing the coup a day earlier as a “stain” on the military’s history. Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, was detained by the military in the early hours of Monday along with President Win Myint. The army installed an ex-general as president and handed “legislative, judicial and executive powers” […]

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Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand protest against coup

  BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Scores of Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand protested in front of their embassy on Monday, waving posters of leader Aung San Suu Kyi after she was detained during a military coup. Myanmar’s army took over early Monday, taking Suu Kyi into custody and announcing a state of emergency and power transfer to military chief General Min Aung Hlaing. Dressed in red — the signature colour of Suu Kyi’s National League […]

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News in photos: Troubling scenes in Myanmar as military takes over

  These are just some of the scenes in Myanmar as captured in photos by a stringer of Agence France Presse. The military staged a coup early Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 in Myanmar just as the parliament was supposed to start session. The military detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi early Monday — hours before a newly elected parliament dominated by her NLD party was expected to take its seats for the first […]

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PHL Embassy in Myanmar advises Filipinos there to “stay at home”, coordinate with embassy

  (Eagle News) – The Philippine Embassy in Myanmar is urging all Filipinos there to “remain calm and to stay at home” after a military coup on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021 that saw the country’s State Counsellor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi being detained, along with other top civilian officials. As the military announced a state of emergency for 12 months, civilian government was effectively replaced by military rule headed by Myanmar […]

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Japan urges Myanmar military to free Suu Kyi, restore democracy

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan called Monday for Myanmar’s military to release Aung San Suu Kyi and restore democracy, saying it was opposed to moves that pushed the country “backwards”. “We request the release of stakeholders including state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi who was detained today,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement, urging the army “to quickly restore the democratic political system in Myanmar”. The ministry said Japan had been “strongly supporting the […]

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Myanmar’s Suu Kyi issued pre-emptive call to reject coup: party

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi issued a pre-emptive call for people to reject any coup, before she was detained by the military on Monday, her party said. Suu Kyi called on people “not to accept a coup”, according to a post on the official Facebook page of the chair of the National League for Democracy. Myanmar’s military has put the country under a state of emergency for a year. […]

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Myanmar VP declared Acting President, turns over control of country to military

(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, […]

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Australia says Myanmar army must release elected leaders ‘immediately’

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Monday demanded Myanmar’s army immediately release de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other elected leaders, warning the military was “once again seeking to seize control” of the country. “We call on the military to respect the rule of law, to resolve disputes through lawful mechanisms and to release immediately all civilian leaders and others who have been detained unlawfully,” foreign minister Marise Payne said in a statement. […]

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Myanmar military declares one-year state of emergency

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s military declared a one-year state of emergency on Monday and appointed a general as acting president, after arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials. An announcement on military-owned Myawaddy TV said the move was needed to preserve the “stability” of the state, accusing the country’s election commission of failing to address “huge irregularities” in the November election. © Agence France-Presse

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