US expresses concern over Myanmar military's restrictions on peaceful gatherings

Myanmar’s new military rulers on Monday signalled their intention to crack down on opponents of their takeover, issuing decrees that effectively banned peaceful public protests in the country’s two biggest cities. The United States expressed support to the democratically-elected government and the rights of freedom and expression of the people.

Washington: The United States on Monday (local time) expressed concern over the Myanmar military's recent move to restrict public gatherings following a coup, and expressed support to the democratically-elected government and the rights of freedom and expression of the people.

"More broadly, when it comes to what we have seen in recent days and recent hours, it is fair to say that we stand with the duly-elected representatives of the people of Burma in their efforts to speak for the people of their country," said US State Department spokesperson Ned Price during a press briefing.

He further said that the US supported the Myanmar people's right to assemble and protest peacefully, along with their rights of freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information through online and offline methods. "We're of course very concerned about the military's recent announcement restricting public gatherings," Price commented.

He also said that the US is moving forward to ensure that the military is held accountable for the coup on February 1, when mentioning that it has also called on China to condemn the actions and join the international community against the developments in Myanmar.

"Shortly after the events of February 1, we made an effort to reach out to Aung San Suu Kyi, we did that both informally and we did that formally as well, those requests, of course, were denied," he added.

Myanmar's military launched a coup on Monday morning and detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, Win Myint and other National League for Democracy (NLD) members. The military also announced a one-year state of emergency in the country, vowing to "take action" against alleged voter fraud during the November 8 general election, which saw Suu Kyi's NLD party secure a resounding victory.

According to media reports cited by the United Nations, scores of people took to the streets in Yangon last week to protest the military's takeover and the arrest of several elected leaders.

Access to the internet and social media have been severely restricted following the overthrow of the government and tens of thousands of people on Monday took to the streets for the third consecutive day of widespread protests against the coup.

(ANI)