Myanmar coup: What does it mean going forward?

Myanmar’s military has removed the country’s civilian government and imposed a year-long state of emergency. Several elected officials have been detained – including the country’s defacto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The military accuses the goverment of failing to act on claims of voter fraud in November’s election. Several countries have condemned the coup and have called for the immediate release of detainees.
News of the takeover announced on military-owned television.
One of the few videos of the coup captures the moment a member of parliament was whisked away in a pre-dawn raid – where to, is anyone’s guess.
Among the many arrested is civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of her ruling party, National League for Democracy.
In a statement, she denounced the coup as an attempt to “put the country back under a dictatorship. Adding: “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military.”
The dramatic escalation marks the culmination of a bitter dispute over November’s general election.
An election which saw Suu Kyi’s party coast to victory in a landslide – but which the military insists was fraught with irregularities.
Claims that the country’s election commission has dismissed as baseless.
News of the coup has drawn strong international condemnations.
On the streets of Myanmar, the coup is a sad setback for many – little more than a decade after it celebrated its transition to democracy.
As Myanmar is catapulted towards an uncertain future, many are rushing to stock up on essentials – bracing for an end to democracy as they know it.