Myanmar's military seized control of the country on Monday and detained leading politicians, including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The army declared a state of emergency for one year, accusing authorities of failing to resolve allegations of fraud in November's election.
Soldiers have been deployed in the capital, Yangon, and other other major cities.
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, which won 83% of the vote two months ago, released a statement in her name.
"The actions of the military are actions to put the country back under a dictatorship," the statement quoted her as saying.
"I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military."
UNP condemns coup
The United National Party (UNP) has condemned the military coup that took place in Myanmar on Monday morning.
"In 2011, the democratic reforms in Myanmar began with the country holding their first post-military elections in 2015. The November 2020 General-Elections was the second phase of this Democratic process. The actions of the military have threatened the progress made in the country.
Last year’s General Elections in Myanmar saw an overwhelming majority of the populace vote for the National League for Democracy (NLD). The assumption of office by Myanmar’s elected state legislature would have been another step forward in the democratisation of the country.
The UNP urged the Myanmar military to immediately reverse their decision to arrest the elected officials of the NLD.
"Parliament must be allowed to convene, and the President, Prime Minister and Members of Myanmar’s Parliament must be allowed to reassume duties," the statement added.
US warns of military action
World powers, including the United States, condemned the coup and called for elected leaders to be released.
The White House said Washington "opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition."
The US is "alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country's democratic transition,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, using the country's former name.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the army to "reverse these actions immediately."
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the developments "a serious to democratic reforms in Myanmar."
Australia urged Myanmar's military to release all the detained leaders, adding that the army was "once again seeking to seize control."
Human Rights Watch said the coup was "a real disaster for human rights and democracy in Myanmar."
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