Aug 1 , 2021: Myanmar’s junta chief has said elections will be held and a state of emergency lifted by August 2023, extending the timeline given when the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi six months ago.

In a televised address, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said “we will accomplish the provisions of the state of emergency by August 2023. I pledge to hold multiparty elections without fail,” he added.

The general’s announcement would place Myanmar in the military’s grip for nearly two and a half years instead of the initial one year the junta announced days after the coup.

He added, “Myanmar is ready to work on Asean cooperation within the Asean framework, including the dialogue with the Asean special envoy in Myanmar.”

Myanmar has endured six months of turmoil since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and ended the country’s decade-old experiment with democracy. The junta has consolidated its position after a lethal crackdown on street protests, which still persist, despite the violence that has seen almost 1,000 people killed.

Adding to the chaos in the country, tens of thousands of civil servants and other workers have either been sacked for joining protests or are still on strike in support of a nationwide civil disobedience campaign.

Myanmar’s UN representative Kyaw Moe Tun has maintained loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, demonstrating his loyalty in a speech to the General Assembly in February. The military’s attempts to remove him have so far been in vain, but this month Aung Thurein, who left the military this year after 26 years, was nominated by the regime’s foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin to replace Kyaw Moe Tun.

Meanwhile, a corona virus outbreak has overwhelmed the healthcare system, with many hospitals empty due to a work boycott by pro-democracy medical staff. In Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon, people are scrambling for hospital beds and looking for oxygen for their COVID-hit family members and friends. Bodies are piling up in cemeteries and the economy is in free fall.

In June, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a resolution urging member states to prevent the flow of arms to Myanmar, with only 31 abstentions, including its biggest patrons China and Russia, and one lone objection, Belarus.

The National Unity Government (NUG), meanwhile, formed out of the remnants of Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration has made little headway in its attempt to regain control of the country.

But the NUGs role as a shadow administration, would be a reminder to the Myanmar people and the world of why they are preferable to the military, western diplomats in Yangon said. This would help their quest in seeking international support and remaining relevant domestically.

Stay tuned to BaaghiTV for latest news and Updates!