{"id":113070,"date":"2021-02-16T17:38:57","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T17:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=113070"},"modified":"2021-02-16T17:38:57","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T17:38:57","slug":"myanmar-military-promises-new-election-suu-kyi-faces-additional-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/markets\/myanmar-military-promises-new-election-suu-kyi-faces-additional-charge\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar military promises new election; Suu Kyi faces additional charge"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) – Myanmar\u2019s military junta promised on Tuesday that it would hold an election and hand over power as police filed an additional charge against toppled former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.<\/p>\n
It also defended its Feb. 1 seizure of power, denying it was a coup even as protesters took to the streets again in support of Suu Kyi and other arrested leaders and China dismissed social media rumours that it had helped with the military\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,\u201d Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the junta\u2019s first news conference since overthrowing Suu Kyi\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
The military has not given a date for a new election but has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe guarantee … that the election will be held,\u201d he told the nearly two-hour news conference, which the military broadcast from the capital, Naypyitaw, live over Facebook, a platform it has banned.<\/p>\n
Asked about the detention of Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi and the president, Zaw Min Tun dismissed the suggestion they were in detention, saying they were in their homes for their security while the law took its course.<\/p>\n
Suu Kyi, 75, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest for her efforts to end military rule.<\/p>\n
Related Coverage<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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