Aung San Suu Kyi and other Myanmar officials detained by military, ruling party says
01 February 2021
Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been detained along with other senior figures, the government said.
Why it matters: The arrests come amid escalating tensions between the civilian government and the powerful military, triggering concerns of a coup.
- Myanmar was ruled by the military until 2011. But it had been "celebrated as a rare case in which generals willingly handed over some power to civilians" after it respected the 2015 election win of Suu Kyi's party, the New York Times notes.
- She won a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize during her nonviolent campaign for democracy that saw her placed under house arrest for a total of 15 years.
What we know: Government spokesperson Myo Nyunt told Reuters that 75-year-old Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were among those taken" in early-morning raids.
Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.