Myanmar Junta chief blames rebel groups' valence for delayed elections

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Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stated that efforts to organise elections were underway, without specifying a timeline. He pointed fingers at armed ethnic groups and the "so-called People's Defense Forces," accusing them of deliberately delaying the elections

High-ranking Myanmar military officials attend a ceremony marking the country's Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on Wednesday. AFP

Myanmar's junta leader, in a speech to thousands of soldiers following an Armed Forces Day parade, attributed the delay in long-promised elections to the country's growing armed resistance movement.

The military, facing significant losses to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups, recently acknowledged the challenge of holding elections nationwide due to ongoing instability. Three years after seizing power in a coup, experts suggest the junta is confronting its most severe threat yet, with casualties and defections impacting its strength.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing stated that efforts to organise elections were underway, without specifying a timeline. He pointed fingers at armed ethnic groups and the "so-called People's Defense Forces," accusing them of deliberately disrupting and delaying the electoral process.

The Armed Forces Day parade in the capital, Naypyidaw, commenced in the late afternoon, a concession attributed to the hot weather by the junta. During the event, the wife of Myanmar's leader was observed placing garlands of flowers on soldiers. Notably, the parade featured minimal displays of heavy weaponry, unlike previous years when rolling tanks and missile launchers were prominently showcased.

Instead, as night fell, a technicolour display of lights illuminated the parade ground as rows of men and women marched beneath three spotlit statues of Myanmar's empire-building kings.

- State of emergency -

The Armed Forces Day parade commemorates the start of resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War II.

Security in the junta's remote, purpose-built capital, was tight, with few cars on the roads in the run-up to the event.

The February 2021 coup against Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government unleashed turmoil that has left thousands dead and shattered Myanmar's economy.

Over the past six months, the generals' grip on power has looked shakier than ever with dozens of anti-junta "People's Defence Forces" (PDFs) battling the army across the country.

In October, an alliance of ethnic minority fighters launched a surprise offensive in northern Shan state, capturing territory and taking control of lucrative trade routes to China.

Tom Andrews, the UN's special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said last week that battlefield losses and problems with recruitment were posing "an existential threat for the Myanmar military".

The situation has driven the junta to enforce a military service law, allowing it to call up all men aged 18-35 and women aged 18-27 for two years' service.

The announcement last month, which Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday defended as a necessity, prompted thousands of potential recruits to try to flee the country, with the Thai embassy in Yangon deluged with visa applicants.

The military justified its coup with unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud during 2020 polls won by Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

It has repeatedly pledged to hold new elections - while also extending a state of emergency that prevents them from taking place.

More than 4,500 people have been killed in the military's crackdown on dissent since the coup and over 26,000 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

International condemnation has grown, with the UN chief Antonio Guterres saying earlier this month he was "alarmed" by reports of ongoing air strikes on villages in the country's east.

And in a statement ahead of the parade, Britain's Minister for the Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the people of Myanmar "continue to suffer from the continuing battleground across their country."

With inputs from AFP