Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Myanmar Ambassador has been called in over the detention of Australian citizen Sean Turnell.
An economic adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr Turnell said he is being detained by Myanmar’s military and he expects charges to be laid imminently, although it is unclear what they may be.
“I’m just being detained at the moment and perhaps charged with something,” he told the BBC.
“I don’t know what that would be – could be anything at all, of course. Everyone is being very polite, but obviously I’m not free to move or anything like that.”
It comes days after Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention during an early morning raid. She faces two years in jail for the possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies, a charge dismissed as absurd by human rights groups.
Ms Payne said consular assistance is being provided to a number of Australians who have been arbitrarily detained.
“In particular, we have serious concerns about an Australian who has been detained at a police station,” she said.
“We have called in the Myanmar Ambassador and registered the Australian Government’s deep concern about these events.
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“The Australian Embassy in Yangon continues to contact Australians in Myanmar to ascertain their safety, to the extent that communications allow.”
Earlier, Mr Turnell sent a message to Reuters news agency just as he was being detained.
“I guess you will soon hear of it, but I am being detained. [I’m] being charged with something, but not sure what. I am fine and strong, and not guilty of anything,” he said, with a smile emoji.
This is the first known arrest of a foreign national in Myanmar since the army generals seized power alleging fraud in a November 8 election that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide.
Professor Turnell has been living in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, since 2017, working as the director of the Myanmar Development Institute.
He earlier this week posted on social media, thanking people for getting in touch to ensure his safety following the coup.
“Thanks everyone for your concern yesterday. Safe for now but heartbroken for what all this means for the people of Myanmar,” he wrote in a message on Twitter.
Myanmar saw its largest anti-coup protests yet on Saturday. Around 3,000 people gathered near Yangon University, despite a nationwide internet blackout aimed at stifling a growing chorus of popular dissent.
“Down with the military dictatorship!” the crowd yelled, many donning red headbands – the colour associated with ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.
Similar scenes were observed in the Australian city of Melbourne, with hundreds gathering to condemn Myanmar’s new military regime.
“We couldn’t keep silent and sit in our homes. We would like to show the world and the public in Australia that this is what is happening. We don’t accept the illegal use of force taking the power from the people,” Simon Sang Hre told SBS News.
International pressure on the junta increased with the UN Security Council urging the release of detainees and US considering sanctions on the ruling generals.
UN Myanmar envoy Christine Schraner Burgener strongly condemned the military’s actions in a call with the country’s deputy military chief Soe Win and called for the immediate release of all those detained, a UN spokesman said on Friday.
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The leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia on Friday said they were seeking a special meeting of Southeast Asian nations to discuss the situation in Myanmar.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed China on the situation in Myanmar in a phone call on Friday – the first conversation between top officials of the two powers since President Joe Biden took office.
Mr Blinken “pressed China to join the international community in condemning the military coup in Burma”, a State Department statement said of the call, using the former name of Myanmar.
China has long enjoyed a privileged relationship with Myanmar, supporting the junta that gave way to democracy a decade ago with US support.
Additional reporting: Reuters, AFP
