Myanmar military denies responsibility for child deaths and says elections could be pushed back

"This is not a coup," said Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun from a gilded hall in Myanmar's purpose-built capital Naypyidaw, the city where his comrades recently ousted an elected government, detained the country's leadership, and installed a military junta. During an hour-long conversation with CNN, the military spokesperson was steadfast in upholding the junta's official narrative: that the generals are merely "safeguarding" the country while they investigate a "fraudulent" election. The bloodshed on the streets that has killed at least 600 people is the fault of "riotous" protesters, he said.

At one point, Zaw Min Tun said if civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi's father -- the assassinated independence hero Aung San, who founded the country's modern military -- could see the situation now, he would say: "You are such a fool, my daughter."

The interview took place during a week-long press tour of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, and Naypyidaw from March 31 to April 6. Prior to the trip, the military assured CNN it would be able to report independently and be given freedom of movement, but the journalists' request to stay in a Yangon hotel was denied and the team instead were housed in a walled military compound, given only intermittent and heavily controlled access to the public.

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