/ 02 August 2021

Military rulers promise elections in Myanmar

Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing has appointed himself prime minister of the nation and pledged to hold an election in August 2023, when the state of emergency will also be lifted. That means military rule will be in place for 2.5 years – a longer stretch than the 12 months promised when the elected government was booted out in a coup in February. In the last 6 months, almost 1,000 civilians have been killed in protests. Those demonstrations are continuing, but they’re subdued because of the lethal force meted out by authorities. While in power, the military says it’s ready to be recognised as the official government of Myanmar – something the United Nations will consider next month. But the coup leaders are already acting like the real deal and will hold more talks today with regional cooperation forum ASEAN about the situation.

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