Myanmar military junta extends state of emergency for 6 months

Bangkok, Aug 1 (EFE).- Myanmar’s military junta will extend the state of emergency in force in the country for six more months, state media reported Monday.

Myanmar has been under a state of emergency since Feb. 1, 2021, when the military overthrew the elected government of now imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and plunged the country into a deep political, economic and social crisis.

At a meeting of the National Defence and Security Council on Sunday, junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing spoke about the “need to extend the declared period for the State of Emergency across the country under Section 425 of the Constitution in order to continue working to return the country to the path of a peaceful and disciplined multiparty democratic system and to hold multiparty democratic general elections,” state-run newspaper The Global Light of Myanmar reported.

The members of the National Defence and Security Council “unanimously” supported the proposal to extend the state of emergency, the newspaper added.

Clashes between the security forces and the opponents of the junta have become frequent in Myanmar since the coup, leading to increased repression by the military.

Last week the junta executed four opponents of the regime, including Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a former hip-hop artist and lawmaker from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, and veteran activist Kyaw Min Yu, sparking global outcry.

At least 2,138 people have died as a result of violent repression by security forces, while almost 15,000 people have been arbitrarily arrested, according to data collected by the nonprofit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. EFE

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