ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Police in Myanmar, also known as Burma, have filed several charges against the elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi following Monday's military coup.

She has been remanded in custody until 15 February, police documents show.

The charges include breaching import and export laws, and possession of unlawful communication devices.

Her whereabouts are still unclear, but it has been reported that she is being held at her residence in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Deposed President Win Myint has also been charged, the documents show - in his case with violating rules banning gatherings during the Covid pandemic. He has also been remanded in custody for two weeks.

Neither the president nor Ms Suu Kyi have been heard from since the military seized power in the early hours of 1 February.

The coup, led by armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing, has seen the installation of an 11-member junta which is ruling under a year-long state of emergency.

The military sought to justify its action by alleging fraud in last November's elections, which Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won decisively.

The accusations are contained in a police document - called a First Initial Report - submitted to a court.

It alleges that Ms Suu Kyi illegally imported and used communications equipment - walkie-talkies - found at her home in Nay Pyi Taw.

She was remanded in custody "to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant", the document says.

Mr Win Myint is accused, under the National Disaster Management Law, of meeting supporters in a 220-vehicle motorcade during the election campaign in breach of Covid restrictions.

Activists in Myanmar are calling for civil disobedience.

Many hospital medics are either stopping work or continuing but wearing symbols of defiance in simmering anger over the suppression of Myanmar's short-lived democracy.

Protesting medical staff say they are pushing for the release of Ms Suu Kyi.

They are wearing red, or black, ribbons and pictured giving the three-fingered salute familiar from the Hunger Games movies and used by demonstrators last year in Thailand.

Online, many changed their social media profile pictures to one of just the colour red.

"Now young people in Myanmar... have digital power, we have digital devices and we have digital space so this is the only platform for us" Yangon Youth Network founder Thinzar Shunlei told AFP.

"So we've been using this since day one, since the first few hours that we are opposing the military junta."

A Facebook group has been set up to co-ordinate the disobedience campaign.

But there have been few signs of major protest. On Tuesday night, drivers honked their horns in the main city, Yangon (also known as Rangoon), and residents banged cooking pots.

Myanmar has been mainly calm following the coup, with troops on patrol and a night-time curfew in force.

There have also been demonstrations in support of the military - one attracted 3,000 people, AP news agency reports.

Hundreds of MPs were also detained by the military but were told on Tuesday they could leave their guest houses in the capital.

Among them is Zin Mar Aung, an NLD MP who spent 11 years in jail on political charges under military dictatorship.

She told BBC Burmese she had now been given 24 hours to leave the MPs' compound.

"Currently the situation is very very tough and challenging," she said. "Under the military coup it's very dangerous if we speak out about what will be our next steps... only thing that I can say is that the MPs of parliament will stand with our people and vote."

*BBC