Myanmar military extends emergency rule
Myanmar’s military government has extended its emergency rule for another six months.
The head of the government, General Min Aung Hlaing, blamed instability for stalling efforts to implement a peace plan agreed with other Southeast Asian countries.
General Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech aired on state media that Myanmar had been striving to overcome the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic while facing internal violence.
“So it was difficult to implement the ASEAN consensus due to the lack of stability,” Min Aung Hlaing said.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed on a five-point “consensus” to end hostilities last year, but there has been little sign of the junta implementing the five-point plan, which includes an end to violence and dialogue.
“Our country is an ASEAN state so we value the conventions of ASEAN,” Min Aung Hlaing said.
He added that progress could only be made when the situation was “normal“.
The junta first declared a state of emergency after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup in February last year.
Myanmar has been in chaos since then, with conflict spreading after the army crushed mostly peaceful protests in towns and cities.
Western governments denounced the coup and the detention on various charges of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi and numerous members of her party and supporters.
The junta said it had to take power last year because of voting fraud in a November 2020 general election that Suu Kyi’s party easily won. Election monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.
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The military has pledged to hold new elections in August 2023 though the timetable has already slipped and opponents do not believe it would be free and fair.
Security forces have killed more than 2,100 people since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for political prisoners, an activist group. The junta has said such tolls are exaggerated.
The true picture of the violence has become more difficult to assess since lightly armed People’s Defence Forces have sprung up to take on the army, often in more remote areas where ethnic minority insurgents are also fighting the military.
In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing blamed “terrorists” for inflicting casualties.
The military has branded armed opponents and a rival shadow National Unity Government set up by pro-democracy politicians as “terrorists“.
The junta has faced sanctions from many Western countries and last week saw further condemnation after the execution of four democracy activists it accused of “terror acts“.
Min Aung Hlaing also brought up the economy, which has slumped since the pandemic and as the coup ended a decade of reform.
“I think progress can be seen within six months,” he said, citing the prospect of more jobs and a focus on farming.
Zainab Sa’id
