It is a precious support for the Burmese junta, at a time when its bloody repression of pro-democracy demonstrations has earned it isolation and international condemnation. Friday March 26 and Saturday March 27, Naypyidaw hosted a high-level Russian delegation, led by Deputy Defense Minister Alexandre Fomine.
According to the reports which were made of this visit, General Fomine met on Friday the head of the junta, Min Aung Hlaing, praising on this occasion a Burma “Loyal ally and strategic partner” from Russia. The following day, the Russian soldier attended the military parade organized for the 76 years of the formation of the Burmese army – a rare privilege for a foreigner -, concluded with a gala dinner.
The Russian Army television channel devoted extensive coverage to this parade and to General Fomine’s visit, never mentioning the ongoing political unrest in the country, nor the repression. Saturday, the day of the parade, at least 100 demonstrators were killed by bullets from the police.
Officially, this visit was intended to respond to the politeness of General Min Aung Hlaing, who had attended, in June 2020, in Moscow, the celebrations of 75 years of the Soviet victory over Nazism. However, it is difficult not to see in this a mark of additional support, in addition to the action of Russian diplomacy in favor of the junta. On February 12, Moscow opposed, like China, a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council condemning the action of the Burmese military, assuring that it saw only one “Internal affair”.
Vital displays of friendship
This creed, usual for Russia, however contradicts another, that of respect, at least formal, for the legality and legitimacy of an established government, in this case that of Aung San Suu Kyi. In an interview with Dojd television, another member of the Russian delegation, Pavel Gousev, argued that “The word ‘junta’ does not quite fit”, the army respecting, according to him, the provisions of the Constitution.
Mr. Gousev, who is both a member of the public council to the Russian army and editor-in-chief of the daily Moskovsky Komsomolets, also considered that the information on the military repression was not “Not confirmed”. On March 10, Moscow still let pass a UN resolution condemning the repression.
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