Latest news with #militarygovernment
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Myanmar ends state of emergency and military leader switches roles to prepare for polls
Myanmar's military government announced Thursday it was ending the state of emergency it first declared after seizing power 4 1/2 years ago and restructuring its administrative bodies to prepare for a new election at the end of the year. The plans for the polls on an unspecificed date in December face serious obstacles, including a civil war raging over most of the country and vows by opponents of military rule to derail the election because they believe it can be neither free nor fair. Under the restructuring, the head of the military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, gives up two posts but will serve in other positions that keep him at the center of power. The joint announcements came as the last of seven consecutive six-month, emergency-rule decrees was set to expire Thursday at midnight. The military imposed emergency rule and created new administrative structures after it ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, arresting her and members of her ruling National League for Democracy party. The military claimed Suu Kyi's government failed to address fraud claims in the 2020 election, though independent observers did not find irregularities. The emergency decree empowered the military to assume all government functions, giving legislative, judicial and executive powers to Min Aung Hlaing as head of the ruling military council, formally called the State Administration Council. Despite losing his post as chief of the now-dissolved council and relinquishing the job of prime minister to his advisor, Gen. Nyo Saw, Min Aung Hlaing will exercise more influence as Myanmar 's acting president with increased authority under the restructuring. Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the military's spokesperson, said the state of emergency has been lifted to allow the election process to continue. 'Elections will be held within six months after the emergency period is lifted,' he said. The existing administrative bodies formed after the army takeover, including the State Administration Council, have been dissolved and all government functions have been handed to the National Defense and Security Council, Zaw Min Tun said. The National Defense and Security Council is nominally a constitutional administrative government body, but in practice is controlled by the military. Min Aung Hlaing, as acting president, is already its key member. State-run MRTV television reported the National Defense and Security Council formed a new entity, the State Security and Peace Commission, also to be headed by Min Aung Hlaing, handing him another lever of power. The army's 2021 takeover was met with widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance and embroiling the country in a civil war. As of Wednesday, 7,013 people have been killed and 29,471 were arrested by the security forces since the takeover, according to tallies kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners that the military government has challenged. Opponents, as well as independent analysts, estimate the army controls less than half the country, but is holding on tenaciously to much of central Myanmar, including the capital, Naypyidaw. It is accelerating counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by opposition forces ahead of the election. The military originally announced elections would be held in August 2023, but has repeatedly pushed back the date until recently saying they would take place in December without a specific date. Critics say the elections will not be democratic because there is no free media and most leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party have been arrested. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to legitimize and maintain the military's rule. The National Unity Government, which calls itself the country's legitimate government and serves as an opposition umbrella group, and the powerful ethnic armed groups that have been fighting the central government for greater autonomy have said they would seek to deter the election. Nay Phone Latt, a National Unity Government spokesperson, said Thursday's actions by the regime could be a preparatory step to create a 'fake' election. 'As revolutionary forces, nothing will change in this regard and we will continue to fight until we achieve our goals based on our roadmaps,' Nay Phone Latt said.
Washington Post
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Myanmar ends state of emergency and military leader switches roles to prepare for polls
BANGKOK — Myanmar's military government announced Thursday it was ending the state of emergency it first declared after seizing power 4 1/2 years ago and restructuring its administrative bodies to prepare for a new election at the end of the year. The plans for the polls on an unspecificed date in December face serious obstacles, including a civil war raging over most of the country and vows by opponents of military rule to derail the election because they believe it can be neither free nor fair.
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Myanmar ends state of emergency before planned elections
Myanmar's military government has declared the end of a state of emergency as it ramps up plans for elections, which opposition groups have pledged to boycott and monitors warn will be used to consolidate the military's hold on power under leader Min Aung Hlaing. Military government spokesman Zaw Min Tun made the announcement on Thursday, four and a half years after the military deposed the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup, sparking a multisided civil war that has killed thousands of people. 'The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multiparty democracy,' Zaw Min Tun said in a voice message shared with reporters. 'Elections will be held within six months,' he added. No exact date has been announced. An order signed by General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the February 2021 coup, cancelled the emergency rule that handed power to him as the armed forces chief, instead returning it to the head of state. However, Min Aung Hlaing, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity against the Muslim Rohingya minority, also occupies the position of head of state as acting president, so the order he signed essentially gives him the same powers to determine when the elections will be held and which parties may take part in the process. 'We have already passed the first chapter,' Min Aung Hlaing was quoted by The Global New Light of Myanmar, a government-owned newspaper, as saying. 'Now, we are starting the second chapter,' he told members of the military government's administration council at what the newspaper called an 'honorary ceremony' for its members. On Thursday, state broadcaster MRTV also reported that the general will lead the 11-member commission that will supervise the election. Min Aung Hlaing has recently touted elections as an offramp from the conflict. Opposition groups, including former lawmakers ousted in the coup, have pledged to snub the poll, which a United Nations expert last month dismissed as 'a fraud' designed to legitimise the military's continuing rule. The military seized power after making unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 elections, which Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won in a landslide. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate remains jailed along with the party's other top leaders. Analysts predicted that despite the promised elections, Min Aung Hlaing will likely keep his role as either president or armed forces chief and will consolidate power in that office, thereby extending his tenure as de facto ruler. A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Beijing supports 'Myanmar's various parties and factions properly resolving differences through political means under the constitutional and legal framework'. Political parties are currently being registered while training sessions on electronic voting machines have already taken place.
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Myanmar Lifts State of Emergency, Paving the Way for Disputed Vote
Myanmar's military government on Thursday lifted a four-year state of emergency that had been in place since the army seized power in a coup, as it prepared to hold an election that would be boycotted by opposition groups. The action did not represent a move away from military rule. Nor was it expected to result in any meaningful change for the people. Under Myanmar's constitution, elections cannot be held during a state of emergency. The government has said it planned to hold a vote in December. As part of the move, the head of the military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, appointed himself as acting president of a new 'Union government.' 'It's essentially handing power from the left hand to the right,' said U Kyee Myint, a human rights lawyer who is in hiding in Myanmar. 'But regardless of how things are restructured or reshaped, the essence remains the same: He still holds all the power.' The military imposed a state of emergency in February 2021 after it launched a coup against a civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Since the coup, the country has been convulsed by a four-year civil war as people took up arms against the government. The military extended the state of emergency repeatedly in six-month increments, saying the armed protesters known as the 'People's Defense Forces' and the country's ethnic armed groups posed a threat to national stability. On Thursday, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing also formed a National Security and Stability Commission, filling its top ranks with senior generals. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for Myanmar's military, told reporters on Thursday that the state of emergency was lifted 'in order to transition the country toward a multiparty democracy.' Few people believe this to be true. The military sees the election as a way to gain some semblance of legitimacy within the country after it claimed widespread voter fraud to justify seizing power in the coup. Holding an election, even a flawed one, could also convince some countries to normalize ties with the military government, which has become a pariah on the international stage. The National League for Democracy, the party of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, has consistently said that it will boycott the elections. It calls the military-appointed Union Election Commission illegitimate and has described the planned vote as a sham.
CNA
a day ago
- Politics
- CNA
Myanmar junta ends state of emergency in election run-up
YANGON: Myanmar's military government ended its state of emergency on Thursday (Jul 31), ramping up plans for a December election that opposition groups pledged to boycott and monitors said will be used to consolidate the military's power. The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a many-sided civil war which has claimed thousands of lives. The order gave junta chief Min Aung Hlaing supreme power over the legislature, executive and judiciary - but he has recently touted elections as an off-ramp to the conflict. Opposition groups including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup have pledged to snub the poll, which a UN expert last month dismissed as "a fraud" designed to legitimise the military's continuing rule. "The state of emergency is abolished today in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multi-party democracy," junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said in a voice message shared with reporters. "Elections will be held within six months," he added. Analysts predict Min Aung Hlaing will keep a role as either president or armed forces chief following the election and consolidate power in that office, thereby extending his tenure as de facto ruler. A flurry of statements and orders announced a new "Union Government" had been formed alongside a "National Security and Peace Commission" to oversee defence and the election process. Both will be led by Min Aung Hlaing who will remain acting president, according to orders he signed himself. "We have already passed the first chapter," Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech in Naypyidaw reported in state newspaper The Global New Light of Myanmar on Thursday. "Now, we are starting the second chapter," he told members of the junta's administration council at what the newspaper called an "honorary ceremony" for its members. "The upcoming election will be held this December, and efforts will be made to enable all eligible voters to cast their ballots," the newspaper reported, paraphrasing another part of his speech. NO DATE SET No exact date for the poll has been announced by the junta, but political parties are being registered while training sessions on electronic voting machines have already taken place. The military government said Wednesday it enacted a new law dictating prison sentences of up to 10 years for speech or protests aiming to "destroy a part of the electoral process". A census held last year as preparation for the election estimated it failed to collect data from 19 million of the country's 51 million people, provisional results said. The results cited "significant security constraints" as one reason for the shortfall - giving a sign of how limited the reach of the election may be amid the civil war. Analysts have predicted rebels will stage offensives around the election as a sign of their opposition.
