The unsurprising Myanmar coup

Police keep watch at a guesthouse, where members of parliament reside, in the country's capital Naypyidaw, as the party of Myanmar's toppled leader Aung San Suu Kyi demanded her immediate release after a military coup. — AFP

ONCE more, the generals have struck in Myanmar, sending the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy packing. Reports emerging from the country have said that Ms Suu Kyi — the de facto leader of Myanmar — as well as the president are in detention, while the armed forces have declared a year-long state of emergency.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, had emerged from decades of military rule in 2011 and was being run under a hybrid system where the generals dominated the state’s affairs, and allowed limited democratic activity.