Earlier this week, Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) voiced support for a civil disobedience campaign, after the military seized power in the country, arresting government members and accusing the cabinet of vote fraud.
Sean Turnell, an Australian economic adviser to the ousted head of the Myanmar government Aung San Suu Kyi confirmed he “was being detained” following Monday’s military coup.
FILE PHOTO: Protesters from Myanmar residing in Japan raise their fists and hold a poster depicting Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally against Myanmar’s military, after it seized power from a democratically elected civilian government and arrested Suu Kyi, outside Foreign Ministry in Tokyo, Japan February 3, 2021.
According to the report, he was confined to his hotel.
The Australian Foreign Ministry addressed the message later in the day, expressing concerns about the reports of the detention of Australian and other foreign nationals in Myanmar.
Turnell is Professor of Economics at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). He is the author of several books and multiple studies on the country’s economy.
Students arrive at a court after being arrested in a demonstration against the military coup, in Mandalay, Myanmar, February 5, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
The report about his detention comes amid a series of arrests in the country, after the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) declared a one-year state of emergency, accusing State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and her cabinet of vote fraud in the November 2020 elections. Suu Kyi has since been accused of breaking import laws by smuggling walkie-talkies.
According to some estimates, at least 130 officials have been detained by the armed forces so far. In response, mass protests hit the Asian nation’s largest city Yangon and the capital city Naypyidaw.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
