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US leads world condemnation of Myanmar's military coup Yangon, Feb 1 (AFP) Feb 01, 2021 The United States on Monday led governments around the world in calling for the restoration of Myanmar's democracy after the military staged a coup, arresting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other politicians.
She added that Washington opposed any attempt to alter the outcome of the November elections, which saw Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) win in an overwhelming landslide, but sparked allegations of vote irregularities by the routed military-backed party. New US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called on Myanmar's military "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". Before the coup, Washington, alongside several other Western nations, had urged the military to "adhere to democratic norms" in a January 29 statement that came as the commander-in-chief threatened to revoke the country's constitution.
"The vote of the people must be respected and civilian leaders released," he tweeted.
"China is a friendly neighbour of Myanmar and hopes the various parties in Myanmar will appropriately resolve their differences under the constitutional and legal framework to protect political and social stability," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing.
"These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.
"The outcome of the elections has to be respected and democratic process needs to be restored," the former Belgian prime minister tweeted.
"As an immediate and friendly neighbour, we would like to see peace and stability in Myanmar."
"We request the release of stakeholders including state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi," Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement, urging "the national army to quickly restore the democratic political system in Myanmar".
"Our primary concern is the safety of our people," he said. "Our armed forces are on standby in case we need to airlift them as well as navy ships to repatriate them if necessary."
"The Constitution of 2008 was specifically designed to ensure military power was deeply entrenched and protected," he said.
"We urge military leaders to adhere to democratic norms and respect the outcome of the elections," Norway's foreign ministry tweeted. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said civilian leaders and others "unlawfully detained must be released immediately and unconditionally". Denmark's Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said "military under civilian control is a key democratic principle".
"Turkey opposes all kinds of coups and we expect the immediate release of elected leaders, political figures and civilians who have been detained," the Turkish foreign ministry said.
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