BERLIN (AA) - Germany condemned the military coup in Myanmar “in the strongest possible terms” and called for an immediate release of the country’s democratically elected leaders.
“I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the military’s seizure of power in Myanmar and the accompanying arrests,” Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement on Monday.
“I call on the military to immediately release the arrested members of government and parliament, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to lift the state of emergency and to allow the work of democratically legitimized, constitutional institutions,” he added.
Maas warned that the military intervention puts at risk the achievements of Myanmar towards democracy.
“Germany, together with its EU partners, reaffirms its support for the further democratization of Myanmar and the efforts of the civil government to promote peace, human rights and economic development in Myanmar,” he said.
“I expect the Burmese military leadership to respect the democratic will of their people and to recognize the result of the elections on Nov. 8, 2020.”
- Coup in Myanmar
Myanmar’s military announced Monday that it had seized power and would rule the country for at least a year.
The military declared a state of emergency, detaining Myint, as well as Suu Kyi and other senior members of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party just hours before the scheduled start of the first session of the new parliament.
It claimed that it had taken over due to “election fraud” in the Nov. 8 polls that resulted in the dominance of Suu Kyi’s NLD party in parliament.