The head of Myanmar’s junta, Min Aung Hlaing, will expand the state of crisis in the country for a more six months, state press said on Monday (Aug 1), reporting that the junta’s national defence and security council had provided its approval.
The junta first declared a condition of emergency after seizing power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup within February last year.
“The members (of the security council) with one voice supported the offer to extend the period of the declared state of emergency for another six months, ” the Global New Light of Myanmar reported.
“In our country, we must continue to strengthen the particular ‘genuine and self-disciplined multi-party democratic system’ which is the desire of the people, ” the paper mentioned Min Aung Hlaing as saying.
Myanmar has been in mayhem since the coup, with conflict spreading over the Southeast Asian nation after the army smashed mostly peaceful protests in cities.
The junta said it had used power because of voting fraud in a November 2020 general election that was easily received by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. Selection monitoring groups found no evidence of mass fraud.
The particular military has pledged to hold new polls in August 2023 though the timetable has already slipped and opponents do not believe the planned elections will be free and fair.