The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Monday called for the immediate release of Myanmar’s leader and former peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, after she was detained during a military coup.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee is appalled by the military coup in Myanmar and the arrest of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, president Win Myint and other political leaders,” said the committee.
It noted that Suu Kyi was handed the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize “in recognition of her brave struggle for democracy in Myanmar”, and “has continued to be a leading figure in developing democracy”.
“Now, 30 years after she was awarded the Peace Prize, the military has once again pushed democracy aside and arrested leading representatives of the legally elected government,” the committee said in a statement.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee asks for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other arrested politicians, and for the result of last year’s general election to be respected.”
Monday’s bloodless coup ended a decade of transition from outright military rule in Myanmar, with the generals justifying the power grab by alleging fraud in the November elections that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party won in a landslide.
The coup has sparked global condemnation, with the United States leading calls for democracy to be immediately restored.
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