Having Had A Hunch, Aung San Suu Kyi Left A Handwritten Letter Before Being Detained By The Myanmar Military

Aung San Suu Kyi (Wikimedia Commons / Michał Józefaciuk)

JAKARTA - The Myanmar military under the leadership of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup, followed by the detention of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint as well as a number of Myanmar politicians on February 1.

Not only that, the Myanmar military also carried out large-scale arrests of a number of parties, ranging from ministers, regional heads, supreme leaders of the pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD) to human rights activists.

Many have questioned the fate of those detained, especially the whereabouts and fate of 'Lady', nicknamed Aung San Suu Kyi. Launching The Irrawaddy, Aung San Suu Kyi had anticipated that the military would stage a coup or arrest him.

It is known that Aung San Suu Kyi left a handwritten letter, which he had prepared in light of the warming political situation in Myanmar after the November 8, 2020 elections which were won by the NLD.

In a letter addressed to his supporters, Aung San Suu Kyi urged his supporters not to accept the situation and to protest peacefully against the military coup. He also said the Myanmar military move was an act of returning the country to a dictatorship.

Suu Kyi also firmly stated that the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) clearly violated the Myanmar Constitution, the election results and the people's wishes.

To note, a week before the military coup, tensions over the election results increased significantly in Myanmar. In fact, since mid-last week, the Myanmar military has carried out massive deployments of its forces to the capital cities of Naypyitaw and Yangon.

Tanks and armored vehicles have patrolled both cities. The exits from Yangon and Naypyitaw have been blocked several times. Both cities experienced large and rowdy demonstrations from pro-military supporters over the weekend.