Myanmar military denies coup, promises to hand back power

Myanmar's military denied on Tuesday that its ouster of the elected government was a coup, saying its action was justified because fraud in a November election was not addressed, and it would hand back power after a new election.

"Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party," Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the military's first news conference since it seized power on Feb. 1.

The military has not given a date for a new election but it has imposed a state of emergency for one year.