2 yıl önce

Myanmar army leader touts election plan on Independence Day

The army’s takeover last year reversed nearly a decade of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.

AFP

Military units and civil servants marched in formation close to the grandiose parliament complex.

Myanmar’s ruling military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, detailed plans for an election later this year and called for national unity in a speech as he led a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of independence from Britain.

He urged other nations and international organisations, as well as his country’s own people, to support “the genuine, discipline-flourishing multiparty democratic system,” a concept the ruling military has defined as its goal since it ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Min Aung Hlaing also announced a pardon for 7,012 prisoners to mark the occasion on Wednesday, along with a partial commutation of the sentences of other inmates not convicted of serious crimes.

Some political detainees were among those being released, but there was no sign that the gesture would include Suu Kyi, who has been held virtually incommunicado by the military since it seized power.

Normalizing the military’s seizure of power

The first real move toward holding polls could occur at the end of this month, when the latest six-month extension of a state of emergency is completed. The state of emergency was instituted to allow military rule after its takeover in 2021.

“Upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, free and fair elections will be held in line with the 2008 constitution, and further work will be undertaken to hand over state duties to the winning party in accordance with the democratic standards,” Min Aung Hlaing declared in his speech in the capital, Naypyitaw, where he also presided over a large-scale parade.

Military units and civil servants marched in formation close to the grandiose parliament complex while fighter jets, bombers and helicopters flew overhead.

The plan for a general election is widely seen as an attempt to normalise the military’s seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The military will control the entire process and has spent the past two years enfeebling any credible opposition.

Former ruling party is broken up

Although not officially outlawed, the National League for Democracy, the former ruling party, has effectively been broken up, with its leaders and many of its members either in jail or in hiding.

All forms of dissent are currently suppressed by the security forces, sometimes with lethal force.

The NLD, led by Suu Kyi, won a second successive victory in the 2020 general election, a result that triggered its overthrow by the military the following year.

SOURCE: AP