Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing vows continued crackdown, then elections

Flanked by tanks and missile launchers, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on March 27 vowed no let up in a crackdown on opponents and insisted the military would hold elections, weeks after admitting that it did not control enough territory to allow a vote. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government two years ago after making unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

Flanked by tanks and missile launchers, Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on March 27 vowed no let up in a crackdown on opponents and insisted the military would hold elections, weeks after admitting that it did not control enough territory to allow a vote.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government two years ago after making unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.

Explained | The legal battles of Aung San Suu Kyi since the 2021 coup in Myanmar

The putsch sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebels and birthed dozens of anti-junta "People's Defence Forces" (PDFs), with swathes of the country now ravaged by fighting and the economy in tatters.

The military will take "decisive action" against its opponents and ethnic rebels supporting them, Min Aung Hlaing told an audience of around 8,000 service members attending the annual Armed Forces Day parade in the military-built capital Naypyidaw.

“The terror acts of National Unity Government (NUG) and its lackey so-called PDFs need to be tackled for good and all,” he said, referring to the “National Unity Government,” a body dominated by ousted lawmakers working to reverse the coup. “The junta would then hold “free and fair elections” upon the completion of the state of emergency,” he said.

Last month, the military announced an extension of a two-year state of emergency and postponement of elections it had promised to hold by August, as it did not control enough of the country for a vote to take place. “Serenity and stability are vital” before any election could go ahead,” Min Aung Hlaing told the parade.