The Burmese junta announced that it would organize “free and fair” multi-party elections on Wednesday during the celebrations of the 75e anniversary of the country’s independence, days after former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison.
The Burmese junta, which recently concluded a series of closed trials against Ms Suu Kyi, is preparing for new elections scheduled for later this year, which the United States has described in advance as a “sham”.
“Once (that) the prescriptions of the state of emergency (are) fulfilled, free and fair elections will be held in accordance with the 2008 Constitution,” junta leader Min Aung Hlaing told soldiers and supporters gathered. in Naypyidaw.
The state of emergency imposed by the junta is due to expire at the end of January. According to the Constitution, the authorities will then have to plan the organization of new elections.
The head of the junta did not give a timetable for these elections.
He explained that the electoral commission mandated by the junta was currently meeting with political parties to discuss the “proportional representation electoral system”, without further details.
Experts say the junta could abandon the first-past-the-post system by which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won landslide majorities in 2015 and 2020.
In February 2021, the army overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. She had justified her coup by claiming to have discovered millions of irregular ballots during the last vote, yet considered to be generally free by international observers.
show of strength
At dawn on Wednesday, tanks, missile launchers and armored vehicles roamed the streets of the capital, kicking off a military parade on the occasion of the 75e anniversary of Burma’s independence, AFP correspondents noted.
Officials and high school students followed the soldiers, accompanied by a military band, and 750 “peace” doves were released to mark the occasion, according to state media.
Later in the day, the junta, which routinely pardons prisoners on public holidays, announced it would release 7,012 prisoners, without specifying whether that included people held in the crackdown on dissent.
People convicted of murder, rape or terrorism will not be eligible, the junta added, without further details.
Families then gathered outside Yangon’s Insein prison, hoping to see their loved ones released, according to local media.
Asked by AFP whether the imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi would now be placed under house arrest, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun did not respond.
“We are still collecting information, and we don’t yet have details on how many political prisoners have been released,” said Bo Gyi, deputy secretary of the Political Prisoners Assistance Association ( AAPP), a local organization.
More than 13,000 people arrested by the junta for dissent are still in detention, according to figures released Tuesday by the AAPP.
Protest
Since the 2021 putsch, much of this Southeast Asian country has been plagued by clashes between the junta and local militias who have taken up arms against the military.
A former British colony, Myanmar (formerly Burma) declared its independence on January 4, 1948 after a long struggle led by General Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi’s father.
Previously, Myanmar’s National Day was marked by many festive gatherings in parks and public spaces across the country.
But since the 2021 military coup, celebrations on public holidays have been greatly reduced, with residents staying at home in protest against the junta.
AFP correspondents have noted a strengthening of security in Yangon, the commercial heart of the country and hit by a series of bomb attacks in recent months.
Ahead of the anniversary, the junta awarded hundreds of prizes and medals to its supporters, including Ashin Wirathu, an extremist Buddhist monk known for his role in inciting religious hatred in the country, especially towards the minority Muslim Rohingya.
Ashin Wirathu, nicknamed by the American weekly Time “the Buddhist bin Laden” after deadly communal riots, was awarded the title of “Thiri Pyanchi” on Tuesday for his “outstanding work for the good of the Union of Burma”.
On the occasion of this anniversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, a close ally and arms supplier of the Burmese military junta, sent his “sincere greetings” and predicted the “future development” of relations between the two countries, according to the Global State newspaper New Light of Myanmar.
Isolated from the rest of the world, the Burmese junta deemed Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine “justified”.
Two Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 and two MiG-29 jets flew over as part of Wednesday’s parade, according to state media.