Myanmar: Junta extends emergency rule on eve of coup anniversary

The military junta that has ruled Myanmar since a coup in 2021 is fighting to quell a brutal uprising that supports democracy and has put the junta’s ability to rule to the test. On Wednesday, they extended the state of emergency that has been in effect.

According to military-run media outlet Myawaddy, on its Telegram channel, Junta commander Min Aung Hlaing decided that in order to carry out the tasks required “to bring the nation to a normal state of stability and peace,” the emergency rule needed to be extended for an additional six months.

After a deadly crackdown on a wave of rallies and post-coup dissent, a youth-led pro-democracy rebellion turned into an armed resistance movement, posing the generals with their greatest challenge since they originally took control of the former British colony in 1962.

In an attempt to quell militias linked to ethnic minority armies and a shadow government, the junta has sent in fighter aircraft and heavy artillery. Several of these militias began a concerted onslaught in October that shocked the military and damaged its reputation on the battlefield.

The United Nations estimates that 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Meanwhile, attempts by Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia to start talks have failed, since the junta will not hold talks with groups it regards as “terrorists.”

An abrupt and unpopular end to ten years of shaky democracy and economic change, the extension of emergency rule came on the eve of the third anniversary of the military regaining control in the coup, alleging unsolved electoral irregularities.

After a deadly crackdown on a wave of rallies and post-coup dissent, a youth-led pro-democracy rebellion turned into an armed resistance movement, posing the generals with their greatest challenge since they originally took control of the former British colony in 1962.

In an attempt to quell militias linked to ethnic minority armies and a shadow government, the junta has sent in fighter aircraft and heavy artillery. Several of these militias began a concerted onslaught in October that shocked the military and damaged its reputation on the battlefield.

The United Nations estimates that 2.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Meanwhile, attempts by Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia to start talks have failed, since the junta will not hold talks with groups it regards as “terrorists.”

An abrupt and unpopular end to ten years of shaky democracy and economic change, the extension of emergency rule came on the eve of the third anniversary of the military regaining control in the coup, alleging unsolved electoral irregularities.

That occurred a few months after the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi at the time, won a landslide election. The NLD had intended to amend the constitution to remove the influential military from politics and place civilian rule over it.

Although Suu Kyi’s sentence of 33 years in prison was reduced to 27 and at least 40 parties were disbanded, the military has pledged to hold elections and restore Myanmar to the quasi-civilian government it established. Her supporters claim that these actions are trumped-up charges.

It did not specify why it was relaxing political party registration rules when it made the announcement earlier on Wednesday. It provided no election timeline. Western nations have made it clear they will not accept the polls.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the rebel groups representing three ethnic minorities and the parallel National Unity Government, which is in charge of militias, said that they were willing to engage in talks with the military as long as it gave up its authority and placed the armed forces under civilian supervision.

(With agency inputs)