US expresses concern over situation in Myanmar

The United States expresses grave concern and alarm regarding reports that the Burmese military has detained multiple civilian government leaders, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and civil society leaders.

“We call on Burmese military leaders to release all government officials and civil society leaders and respect the will of the people of Burma as expressed in democratic elections on November 8,” Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, said in a statement on Monday

He said the United States stands with the people of Burma in their aspirations for democracy, freedom, peace, and development. “The military must reverse these actions immediately.”

According to media reports, an announcer on Myanmar’s military-owned Myawaddy TV declared on Monday morning that the military had taken control of the country for one year.

Myanmar''s leader Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party have been detained in an early morning raid, the spokesman for the governing National League for Democracy (NLD) was quoted as saying in the media.