Latest news with #MinAungHlaing
The Star
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Star
Myanmar junta signals shift ahead of decision on emergency rule
FILE PHOTO: A voter casts ballot at a polling station on Nov. 8, 2020, in Yangon, Myanmar. Under Myanmar's 2008 Constitution, emergency rules must be lifted before elections can be held, which the junta had pledged to do by December. - AP YANGON: Myanmar's military leader said the country was entering a "second chapter,' signaling a potential shift ahead of a decision Thursday (Aug 1) on lifting the country's state of emergency - a necessary step for holding elections more than four years after a coup. The decision, by the junta's National Defence and Security Council, comes as civil war continues to engulf the South-East Asian nation. Under Myanmar's 2008 Constitution, emergency rules must be lifted before elections can be held, which the junta had pledged to do by December. "If at the start of this second chapter we write it well, beautifully and sincerely with our own hands and carry it out successfully, I believe we will overcome even more challenges,' the leader, Min Aung Hlaing, said at a ceremony Wednesday in the capital Naypyidaw, according to a government release. Western governments, including the US, have dismissed any junta-organised elections as being illegitimate. If the council lifts the state of emergency, it will assume transitional powers and is expected to form an interim authority to oversee the vote. Min Aung Hlaing could be appointed to lead that body. Earlier this week, the military enacted a law it said was designed to to protect the electoral process from "sabotage,' with punishments including the death penalty for disrupting elections. - Bloomberg
Al Jazeera
10 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
UN expert condemns US rollback of sanctions on Myanmar regime allies
The United Nations's top expert on Myanmar has sharply criticised the United States for lifting sanctions on allies of the country's governing military regime, warning the move is a 'major step backward'. Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, on Wednesday called the decision 'shocking'. The US quietly removed sanctions on five individuals and companies allegedly tied to the regime's arms trade on July 24. 'This is a major step backward for international efforts to save lives by restricting the murderous junta's access to weapons,' Andrews said in a statement. 'It is unconscionable to undermine these efforts by rolling back sanctions on Myanmar arms dealers and junta cronies.' The move has drawn criticism amid an ongoing civil war in Myanmar, where the military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, seized power in a 2021 coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Andrews said the companies removed from the sanctions list had been implicated in brokering weapons and materials for the regime's military operations. 'What makes this action even more appalling is that sanctions against the junta are proving to be effective,' Andrews added, pointing to data showing a more than 30 percent decline in Myanmar's imported military equipment from 2023 to 2024, which he attributed in part to US-led sanctions. The move comes despite US President Trump signing a notice in February extending the executive order underpinning Myanmar-related sanctions, saying the 2021 coup 'continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat' to US national security. And in a June statement to the UN, the US representative accused the military regime of bombing civilians and conscripting Rohingya to fight on its behalf. But the decision to ease sanctions came two weeks after Myanmar's military chief sent a glowing letter of praise to US President Donald Trump. In the letter, the general commended Trump's 'strong leadership' and praised his administration for defunding US-backed media outlets critical of the regime. A senior official from Trump's administration said the sanctions decision was unrelated to the letter. But critics say the timing raises serious concerns. John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, called the move 'extremely worrying' and warned that it 'suggests a major shift is underway in US policy, which had centered on punitive action against Myanmar's military regime'. Andrews urged the Trump administration to reverse course. 'Rather than removing sanctions, the US should be extending them to include Myanmar Economic Bank, the key military-controlled financial institution that it relies on to pay for imported military equipment.' 'This is a dangerous and disturbing trend,' he added. 'I urge the Trump administration to stand with the people of Myanmar and reconsider its decision to make it easier for the military junta to attack them with sophisticated weapons of war. It is literally a matter of life and death.'
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Myanmar's military government enacts a tough new electoral law ahead of year-end vote
BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's military government has enacted a new electoral law that imposes punishments of up to the death penalty for anyone who opposes or disrupts the elections it has promised to hold at the end of this year. The new law was published Wednesday in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper. It comes as the country continues to suffer from the turmoil that followed the army's seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, which triggered widespread popular opposition. The military sought to justify its seizure of power by claiming massive fraud took place in the 2020 election, though independent observers did not find major irregularities. After peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms. Large parts of Myanmar are now embroiled in conflict. The ruling military had said after its takeover that an election was its primary goal but repeatedly pushed back the date. The plan for a general election is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and deliver a result that ensures that the generals retain control. The new law, signed by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, says anyone who orates, speaks, organizes, incites, protests or distributes letters to disrupt any part of the electoral process shall be punished with three to 10 years imprisonment, as well as a fine. It also says that anyone who threatens, obstructs, abuses or severely hurts any personnel of the election commission, candidates or voters could be sentenced to three years to life in prison. It says whoever destroys or damages any equipment or materials used in elections, including ballot papers, or any related building or structure, could get five years to life in prison. 'If the action results in the death of a person, each person involved shall be sentenced to death,' the law says. Security committees will be formed to monitor the activities of internal and international organizations that may threaten security during the election period, it says. Critics have said the military-planned election will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party have been arrested. The country's current security situation also poses a serious challenge to holding elections, with the military believed to control less than half the country. However, the military-appointed state election commission said in June that it would hold the elections in 267 of the total 330 townships, depending on the security situation. The National Unity Government, Myanmar's main opposition organization, and the powerful ethnic armed groups that have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy have said they would try to prevent the election. Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union, the main ethnic Karen fighting force battling Myanmar's army in the southeast, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the new law showed the military is tenacious in trying to hold the 'illegal and sham' election. 'We will continue with our own methods and plans regarding that election matter,' he said.
13 hours ago
- Politics
Myanmar's military government enacts a tough new electoral law ahead of year-end vote
BANGKOK -- BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar's military government has enacted a new electoral law that imposes punishments of up to the death penalty for anyone who opposes or disrupts the elections it has promised to hold at the end of this year. The new law was published Wednesday in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper. It comes as the country continues to suffer from the turmoil that followed the army's seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, which triggered widespread popular opposition. The military sought to justify its seizure of power by claiming massive fraud took place in the 2020 election, though independent observers did not find major irregularities. After peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms. Large parts of Myanmar are now embroiled in conflict. The ruling military had said after its takeover that an election was its primary goal but repeatedly pushed back the date. The plan for a general election is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and deliver a result that ensures that the generals retain control. The new law, signed by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, says anyone who orates, speaks, organizes, incites, protests or distributes letters to disrupt any part of the electoral process shall be punished with three to 10 years imprisonment, as well as a fine. It also says that anyone who threatens, obstructs, abuses or severely hurts any personnel of the election commission, candidates or voters could be sentenced to three years to life in prison. It says whoever destroys or damages any equipment or materials used in elections, including ballot papers, or any related building or structure, could get five years to life in prison. 'If the action results in the death of a person, each person involved shall be sentenced to death,' the law says. Security committees will be formed to monitor the activities of internal and international organizations that may threaten security during the election period, it says. Critics have said the military-planned election will be neither free nor fair because there is no free media and most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party have been arrested. The country's current security situation also poses a serious challenge to holding elections, with the military believed to control less than half the country. However, the military-appointed state election commission said in June that it would hold the elections in 267 of the total 330 townships, depending on the security situation. The National Unity Government, Myanmar's main opposition organization, and the powerful ethnic armed groups that have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy have said they would try to prevent the election. Padoh Saw Taw Nee, spokesperson for the Karen National Union, the main ethnic Karen fighting force battling Myanmar's army in the southeast, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the new law showed the military is tenacious in trying to hold the 'illegal and sham' election. 'We will continue with our own methods and plans regarding that election matter,' he said.
The Star
4 days ago
- Business
- The Star
US drops sanctions on junta allies after general lauds Trump
The United States has lifted sanctions on several allies of Myanmar's ruling general and their military-linked firms, a US Treasury notice shows, after the junta chief sent a glowing letter of praise to President Donald Trump. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a 2021 coup, deposing the civilian government and sparking a civil war that has killed thousands, leaving 3.5 million displaced and half the nation in poverty. Two weeks ago, the top general sent a letter to Trump, responding to his threat of tariffs by lauding his presidency with praise, including for shutting down US-funded media outlets covering the conflict. A US Treasury notice on Thursday said sanctions were dropped against KT Services and Logistics, the Myanmar Chemical and Machinery Company, and Suntac Technologies, as well as their managers. In a statement, a US Treasury Department spokesperson denied there was an 'ulterior motive' in the move, although the notice did not provide a reason for the removals. 'Anyone suggesting these sanctions were lifted for an ulterior motive is uninformed and peddling a conspiracy theory driven by hatred for President Trump,' said the spokesperson, on condition of anonymity. They added that individuals were 'regularly added and removed' from the sanctions list 'in the ordinary course of business'. KT Services and Logistics and its CEO Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung were described as junta 'cronies' when they were sanctioned in 2022 for leasing Yangon's port from a military firm for US$3mil (RM12.7mil) a year. The Myanmar Chemical and Machinery Company and its owner, Aung Hlaing Oo, and Suntac Technologies owner Sit Taing Aung were sanctioned later that year for producing arms, including tanks and mortars. A third Myanmar national, Tin Latt Min – who the US previously described as owning 'various companies that are closely related to the regime' – was also removed from the sanctions list. Trump sent a letter to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing earlier this month, one among a raft of missives despatched to foreign leaders during his global tariff blitz. The letter – believed to be Washington's first public recognition of the junta's rule since the coup – threatened Myanmar with a 40% levy unless a trade deal was struck. Min Aung Hlaing responded with a multi-page letter expressing his 'sincere appreciation' for Trump's message and praising his 'strong leadership'. — AFP
