Myanmar junta defends its ‘disciplined democracy’ amid regional pressure

Bangkok, Jun 8 (EFE).- The foreign minister of Myanmar’s military junta, Wunna Maung Lwin, presented a road-map of the military to restore a “true” and “disciplined” democracy as a solution for the country’s political crisis during a meeting with his Southeast Asian and Chinese counterparts, official media reported Tuesday.

The military, who made allegations of massive fraud in the November 2020 elections and used it as a justification for seizing power in a coup on Feb. 1, have subsequently published a five-point plan that culminates with “clean and fair” elections organized by the junta.

Wunna said on Monday during the meeting that most of the points were already being implemented, including the establishment of a new electoral commission – which is investigating the alleged fraud – measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and economic recovery, state daily The Global New Light of Myanmar said in a report on Tuesday.

The foreign minister also mentioned his “cordial” discussion over the weekend with the secretary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Lim Jock Hoi over the five-point consensus agreed upon in April between the leader of the military junta, Min Aung Hlaing, and the his counterparts from the bloc.

These points include a pledge to stop violence against civilians, initiating dialog between the different parties and accepting a mediator to resolve the crisis.

However, none of them have been implemented so far and Min Aung Hlaing appeared to withdraw from the agreement a few days later when he said maintaining law and order was a bigger priority than the “suggestions” of ASEAN leaders.

The lack of progress by Myanmar’s military junta in this regard was criticized on Monday night by the foreign ministers of Malaysia an Singapore

Malaysia’s top diplomat Hishammuddin Hussein said the process was “painfully slow” while Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan called it disappointing.

At least 106 people have been killed by the security forces in Myanmar since the consensus was reached, taking the total number of deaths since the coup to 857, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners.

Moreover, over 5,800 people have been arrested since February, including the ousted leader of the democratic government Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party had registered a record victory in the November elections in a process backed by international observers. EFE

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