Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, issued the following statement:

"I am deeply concerned by the Burmese military’s arrest of President Win Myint, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other Burmese elected officials, and call for their immediate release.

"Burma’s democratic progress since 2015 has been tumultuous. But each step away from decades of military dictatorship towards a democratic transition has been an important one for the Burmese people.

"With today’s arrests, the Burmese military has further upended the country’s democratic progress, disrupted regional stability, and gravely jeopardized the future of U.S.-Burma relations.

"I strongly urge the Burmese military to respect the election result and release those duly elected officials it has arrested in order to minimize the damage that has already been done to the country’s democracy."

# # #