US Calls on Myanmar's Military to End Coup 'Immediately'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken early Monday called on Myanmar's military to reverse its actions "immediately" after reports that it had carried out a coup and detained several leaders including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and cited a state of emergency over "terrible fraud in the voter list" during the recent general election. 

"The United States expresses grave concern regarding reports the Burmese military has detained multiple civilian government and civil society leaders," Blinken said in a statement posted on Twitter late Sunday. "The military must reverse these actions immediately."

The Southeast Asian nation's name was changed from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, but the United States still refers to it as Burma.

Myanmar's military said in a statement broadcast on Myawaddy TV, a military-owned network, that it had declared a year-long state of emergency because "the voter lists which were used during the multi-party general election which was held on the 8th of November were found to have huge discrepancies and the Union Election Commission failed to settle this matter," reports Reuters.

The military's statement said power was handed over to the armed forces' commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and claimed that "there have been a lot of protests going on in townships and cities in Myanmar to demonstrate their mistrust toward UEC. Other parties and people have also been found conducting different kinds of provocations including displaying flags which are very damaging to national security."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the U.S. is "alarmed" by the reports and that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the unfolding situation by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, reports Fox News.

"We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma's democratic institutions and, in coordination with our regional partners, urge the military and all other parties to adhere to democratic norms and the rule of law, and to release those detained today," Psaki said, adding that the United States will "take action against those responsible" if the steps to stage the coup are "not reversed."

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