World Must Ensure Myanmar Coup Fails – UN Chief

United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged the world community to make sure Monday’s coup in Myanmar fails.

The reversal of elections is “unacceptable”, he said, and coup leaders must be made to understand this is no way to rule the country.

According to the BBC, the UN Security Council is discussing a possible statement, but China is expected to block any form of words which condemns the coup.

Elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained when the army seized power.

Police in Myanmar – also known as Burma – later filed several charges against Ms Suu Kyi, who has been remanded in custody until 15 February.

Neither Ms Suu Kyi nor deposed President Win Myint have been heard from since the takeover.

The coup, led by armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing, has seen the installation of an 11-member junta.

The military, which has declared a year-long state of emergency, sought to justify its action by alleging fraud in last November’s elections, which Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won decisively.

Facebook services in Myanmar were disrupted on Thursday amid reports the military had ordered telecom companies to block the social media platform.

The company confirmed the disruptions, urging “authorities to restore connectivity so that people in Myanmar can communicate with their families and friends and access important information”.

Over the past days, activists had set up Facebook pages to co-ordinate opposition to the coup.

Yinka Akanbi

Yinka is an aesthete and a cosmopolite.