Myanmar Military Arrests Aung San Suu Kyi, Japan Urges Citizens To Stay At Home

Aung San Suu Kyi (Wikimedia commons)

The Myanmar military arrested Aung San Suu Kyi. Related to this, the Japanese government will not repatriate its citizens from Myanmar.

The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar asked its citizens to stay indoors. The number of Japanese citizens in Myanmar is estimated at 3,500 people.

Earlier, the Japanese government warned its citizens to postpone travel to Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a post on the website of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese Embassy in Myanmar said that although the current situation in the country does not involve ordinary people, people should still be careful.

"We encourage people to stay inside and refrain from going out unless absolutely essential," he explained.

Quoting Reuters on Monday February 1, the Myanmar army declared a state of emergency after carrying out the arrests of senior government leaders. The arrests were made in response to violations during the 2020 Myanmar elections.

The generals moved hours before parliament was scheduled to sit for the first time since winning elections on November 8. The detention measure is seen as a referendum on Suu Kyi's democratic government, which is still in its infancy.

Telephone lines to the capital Naypyitaw and the main commercial center Yangon were not available. State TV channels were also reportedly down.

People finally rushed to markets in Yangon to buy food and supplies. Some other people line up at automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw cash.

Soldiers take up positions at city hall in Yangon and mobile internet data and telephone services at the NLD headquarters are disrupted. Internet connectivity has also dropped dramatically, said monitoring service NetBlocks.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar President Win Myint and other NLD leaders were arrested in the early hours of the morning, said Myo Nyunt, an NLD spokesman.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said.

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