Naypyidaw (TDI): Myanmar’s ruling military has extended a state of emergency for another 6 months, state media reported on Friday, a day ahead of the four-year anniversary of a coup that plunged the country into chaos after a decade of tentative democracy.
Myanmar remains in a civil war after the military ousted Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.
The junta plans elections this year, but critics dismiss them as a sham to maintain military control power through proxies.
“There are still more tasks to be done to hold the polls successfully. Especially for free and fair ballot, stability and peace is still required,” state- run MRTV said on its Telegram channel in announcing the extension of emergency rule.
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No date has been set for the polls but the junta is forging ahead with plans, despite struggling to run the country as it tries to fend off on many fronts an armed rebellion with its roots in a youth-led uprising that was put down by the military with brutal force.
Fighting has displaced about 3 million people, with widespread food insecurity and a third of the population in need of humanitarian aid, according to the UN, whose special envoy has urged all sides to seek dialogue and move past their “zero-sum mentality.”
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Despite the civil war, an economy in tatters and dozens of political parties banned or refusing to take part, the junta is determined to conduct the polls.
Opponents of the ruling junta plan to disrupt the election and have urged other nations not to recognize the outcome, stating it will be held against the will of the people.