Burma Extends State of Emergency, Election Postponement Likely

Deserted streets and sporadic demonstrations: Burmese activists for democracy have for their part marked with a black stone the second anniversary of the putsch, on the occasion of which several Western countries have imposed new sanctions on the generals.

The National Defense and Security Council, made up of military officials, has responded favorably to the request of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to renew the state of emergency, announced the public television channel MRTV.
This exceptional measure was taken when the military overthrew in February 2021 the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now imprisoned after being sentenced in a series of closed trials. closed at a total of 33 years of deprivation of liberty.

The state of emergency is “extended for six months from February 1”, said interim President Myint Swe, adding that “the sovereign power of the state had again been transferred to the Commander-in-Chief “.

This mechanism was due to expire at the end of January, after which the authorities were required, under the Constitution, to provide a timetable for new elections.

But on Tuesday, the National Defense and Security Council, which met to discuss the state of the nation, concluded that it was “not yet back to normal”.

Burma’s Guardian Army

More than a third of Burma’s 330 districts are beyond the “total control” of the army, the junta leader acknowledged on Wednesday.
“Although there are no protest actions at the moment, the violence is still there,” he said, blaming it on “terrorists”.
In an earlier statement, the junta accused its opponents, including the “People’s Defense Forces” (PDF) and a shadow government led by MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, of seeking to seize power “by the uprising and violence”.

The question that now arises is whether the elections that the generals have undertaken to organize by August could take place under these conditions.
“Our government will work to organize elections in all regions of the country so that the people do not lose their democratic prerogatives,” said Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday.

The head of the junta had previously hammered that the elections could take place only when Burma would be “pacified and stable”.
However, “the army will always be the guardian of the interests of the state and the people (…) under any government whatsoever”, he took care in the process to specify.

Almost Deserted Streets

The streets of central Yangon, the economic capital, largely emptied in the late morning, AFP correspondents noted, after activists called on businesses to close and people not to leave their homes by 10:00 a.m. (03:30 GMT) to 4:00 p.m.

The roads leading to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda – a Buddhist shrine that dominates the skyline and is usually packed with worshipers – were largely deserted.

Most of the buses circulating elsewhere in Yangon were empty and security was very present.

About 200 supporters of the military, however, marched through the historic city center in the early afternoon, escorted on part of their route by soldiers, journalists noted.
Calm also reigned in the second city, that of Mandalay, told one of its inhabitants to AFP.

“There are a few people walking here and there in the neighborhoods but almost no activity on the main arteries,” he testified, requesting anonymity.

Local media footage showed deserted streets in the eastern town of Mawlamyine.

The US embassy meanwhile warned of an “increase in activity and violence against the regime” during the days surrounding the anniversary.
In Bangkok, about 400 demonstrators gathered in front of the Burmese embassy, some chanting anti-army slogans and holding portraits of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the former colonial power, for their part announced a new series of sanctions to mark this anniversary, targeting members of the junta and the entities it supports.
More than 2,900 people have been killed in the army’s crackdown on dissent since it took power and more than 18,000 have been arrested, according to a local watchdog group.

This article is originally published on lanouvellerepublique.fr