Military Arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, Japan Asking Citizens In Myanmar To Stay Alone At Home

Aung San Suu Kyi (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Officials at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs have stated that their government does not plan to repatriate their citizens from Myanmar

This was conveyed after the Myanmar military arrested leader Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the Japanese Embassy in Myanmar asked its citizens to stay indoors. It is estimated that there are 3,500 Japanese citizens residing in Myanmar.

Previously due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japanese government had warned its citizens to postpone their travel there. The Japanese official, who declined to be named, said there were no current plans to change the advice.

The Japanese Embassy in Myanmar, in a message posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that although the situation in the country at the moment does not appear to involve ordinary people, people should be careful.

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

Quoting Reuters, Monday, February 1, 2021, 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 took their steps hours before parliament was scheduled to sit for the first time since a landslide victory in the elections taking place 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. In addition, government TV channels were also reported to be completely dead. People rushed to a market in Yangon to buy food and supplies while others lined up at 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 NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding that he himself was expected to be arrested.

Aung San Suu Kyi's umbrella party won 83 percent of the vote in the second election since the military junta agreed to share power in 2011. The White House said United States President Joe Biden had been informed of the arrests and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the leaders' release. .

“The US supports the Burmese people in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace and development. The military must immediately reverse this action, ”said Blinken.