Defying junta, Myanmar lawmakers convene for oath of office

YANGON: Denied their chance to take their parliament seats after a coup in Myanmar this week, a group of lawmakers held their own house session on Thursday in a show of defiance towards the return of military rule.

About a dozen elected legislators from deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party held the session in their living quarters in the capital Naypyitaw, where they signed oaths of office.

“We can call for a Hluttaw meeting anywhere, anytime, where the committee members are,” said Phyu Phyu Thin of the NLD, using the local name for parliament. “Getting elected by our citizens cannot be erased, no matter what.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council on Thursday called for the release of Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others detained by the military and voiced concern over the state of emergency there but stopped short of condemning the coup.

An initial text, drafted by Britain, condemned the coup, but that language appeared to have been softened — there is no reference to a coup — to win support from China and Russia, which have traditionally shielded Myanmar from any significant council action.