Conflicts & War

Give up links with unity govt or face arrest, Myanmar military to politicians

Bangkok, June 15 (EFE).- Myanmar military rulers have threatened civilian politicians with consequences if they did not give up their affiliations with the shadow government formed by civilian lawmakers deposed in the aftermath of the Feb.1 coup

The junta has designated the underground National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) or national parliament, and Peoples Defense Force (PDF) as terrorist outfits.

The CRPH was set up by the NUG as a parallel lawmaking body to rival the military regime.

It also formed the PDF to organize armed resistance against the military dictatorship.

In the latest diktat, the military has asked politicians to state in writing that they owe no allegiance to the shadow government, formed in April by the politicians and activists opposed to the military coup.

The regime has written to political parties and lawmakers, warning them of the consequences of tying up and interacting with representatives of the self-appointed government, the Irrawaddy online newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The online portal claimed that it had seen one such letter, asking deposed lawmakers to “sign a statement that they will not deal with the CRPH, NUG or PDF.”

The regime has asked politicians to give in writing that they do not recognize the legitimacy of the opposition government and its agencies.

The letter threatens any violator with arrest, stating that those who won seats in the November 2020 general elections “do not have the right to officially stand as parliamentarians.”

Politicians from the Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) formed the shadow government.

The NLD swept the general elections held in November last year as, as it did in 2015.

The army refused to accept the verdict over fraud allegations and enforced a coup on Feb.1, hours before the new parliament was to take the oath.

Myanmar media has speculated that the junta is considering banning the NLD.

The online news portal said some NLD lawmakers received the letter from the military-appointed township administration councils on June 8.

The military has struggled to control the anti-coup resistance, four months after the men-in-uniform seized power and brought an abrupt end to the fledgling democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

Activists and civilian politicians accuse the army of using brutal force to quell pro-democracy protests across Myanmar.

The security forces have allegedly opened fire to kill peaceful protesters, demanding the restoration of democracy and the release of civilian politicians, including Suu Kyi.

More than 860 people have lost their lives in brutal repression by the security forces, data collected by the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners showed.

“As of June 14, 863 people are confirmed killed by the junta coup. This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher,” the monitoring group said in its daily update.

It said the military detained nearly 5,000 people for taking part in peaceful pro-democracy protests. EFE

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