Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained by military

Myanmar's military have detained the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior officials, reports say.

Ms Suu Kyi and other figures had been "taken" early in the morning, Myo Nyunt, a spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, told Reuters.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," Mr Nyunt said. He also he expected to be detained.

Myanmar's military on Saturday denied its chief was threatening to stage a coup over complaints of election fraud, saying the media had misinterpreted his words.

Political tension in the Southeast Asian nation soared last week after a spokesman for the military, which had ruled Myanmar for five decades, said a coup could not be ruled out if its complaints of widespread fraud in November's election were ignored.

The commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, told senior officers in a speech last Wednesday that the constitution could be revoked if the laws were not being properly enforced. Adding to the concern was the unusual deployment of armoured vehicles in the streets of several large cities.

Saturday's statement from the military, known as the Tatmadaw, said that "some organisations and media" wrote without foundation that the military threatened to revoke the constitution. The statement said General Hlaing's speech was taken out of context, and was actually an observation to senior officer trainees on the nature of the constitution.

The ruling National League for Democracy party captured 396 out of 476 seats in the November 8 election, allowing it to form a government led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi for another five years. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won only 33 seats.

The military has publicly complained several times of electoral fraud and called on the government and the Union Election Commission to review the results. It has said it has found 8.6 million irregularities in voter lists in 314 townships that could have let voters cast multiple ballots or commit other "voting malpractice."

The election commission said there was no evidence to support the fraud claims.

Parliament's new session is set to open Monday in the capital Naypyitaw.

- Reported with Associated Press



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