‘Silent Strike’ near Shwe Dagon Pagoda to protest and mark the second anniversary of the coup in Yangon, Burma on 1er February 2023. STR / AFP
The National Defense and Security Council, made up of members of the junta, agreed this Wednesday 1er February to extend Burma’s state of emergency for six months, state media said, likely to postpone elections the generals had pledged to hold by August.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s request to extend the state of emergency declared when the military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in February 2021 has been granted, state broadcaster MRTV said. Furthermore, the Burmese juntawill work to organize elections“, assured its leader, “so that the people do not lose their democratic prerogatives» .
Extension of the state of emergency
“The state of emergency will be extended for six months from February 1“Said Acting President Myint Swe, adding that”the sovereign power of the state was again transferred to the Commander-in-Chief“. The state of emergency was due to expire at the end of January, but on Tuesday, January 31, the National Defense and Security Council met to discuss the state of the nation and concluded that it was “notnot back to normal yet“.
Opponents of the junta, including the “People’s Defense Forcesand a shadow government dominated by MPs from Aung Suu Kyi’s party, tried to take over the “state power through unrest and violence“said the army information service in a press release.
Implementation of elections
The Burmese Juntawill work to organize elections“, assured its leader quoted by the official media on Wednesday.
“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, whose remarks were reported by the television channel MRTV.
Burma’s “Guardians”
The military will remain theguardiansof Burma, regardless of its government, the junta leader was quoted by state media on Wednesday as saying. “The army will always be the guardian of the interests of the state and the people (…) under any government“, underlined Min Aung Hlaing, according to the public television channel MRTV.
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More than a third of the districts in Burma are not under the “Total controlof the army, said Wednesday the head of the junta, Min Aung Hlaing, quoted by the public television channel MRTV. 198 of the 330 districts in this country are “100% stable“, the remaining 132 requiring varying degrees of “safety attention“, did he declare. “Although there are no protest actions at the moment, the violence is still there“, said the head of the junta, who attributed it to “terrorists“.
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