The military government in Myanmar guaranteed on Tuesday that it would hold a fresh election and transfer power while denying denied that its ouster of the Suu Kyi’s government was a coup or that it had detained NLD leaders and accused the demonstrators of intimidation and violence.
Following the February 1 coup, hundreds of thousands of people in Burma took to the streets to oppose the military rule. Since overthrowing the government, the spokesperson of the ruling council, Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, said in its first statement that the main objective of the military government is to hold an election and hand over power to the elected government.
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Although the military is yet to announce a date for the new election, it imposed a state of emergency for one year. Min Tun added that the army will not hold power for long. When asked about Suu Kyi’s detention, he dismissed the claims and maintained that they were in their homes while the law took its course.
Min Tun added that the country’s foreign policy would not change, and Myanmar remained open for business and deals would be upheld. Apart from the mass demonstrations and resistance in the streets across the country, the military is facing a nationwide civil disobedience movement by government employees.
The recent unrest has revived the memories of deadly outbreaks opposition protests against the decades-long military rule that ended in 2011. Although the protests have been largely peaceful, several local media reports suggest that police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Meanwhile, the military regime has given itself detention and extensive search powers in a bid to clamp down on the dissent with tough jail terms. On the other hand, US President Joe Biden also threatened to reimpose economic sanctions on Myanmar.
