Macron slams Myanmar’s sham election as junta makes gains on the ground
The French president calls for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. As the poll approaches, the military regime intensifies its propaganda, forcing artists and actors to support the election. The Ta'ang National Liberation Army recently signed a ceasefire brokered by China that allows the junta to take control of part of the Mandalay region. In Mogok, residents renew their protests.
Yangon (AsiaNews) – French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s 80-year-old pro-democracy leader, who has been in custody since the February 2021 military coup.
Macron warned that the ongoing election process orchestrated by Myanmar’s military junta remains fundamentally flawed and lacks genuine democratic principles.
“Myanmar’s election process is neither transparent nor credible. It is a façade designed to entrench military power rather than reflect the will of the Myanmar people,” Macron stated.
The election, set for December and January, has drawn stern international condemnation.
The military, which is fighting resistance groups and is not in control of all the country, has arrested opposition members, restricted freedom of expression, and manipulated voters’ lists to retain power through elections.
This includes barring Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) from taking part in the election.
On 30 October, the opposition newspaper Khit Thit Media reported that, the director general of the junta's Information and Public Relations Department, Aye Kyaw, summoned representatives of the film industry to his offices in Yangon to order artists to take part in activities promoting the election through videos and messages.
Even those who were initially arrested for opposing the junta and subsequently released will be required to participate, Aye Kyaw said, while those who refuse will be subject to “disciplinary measures”.
The junta also imposed new restrictions on the movement of artists, actors, and singers, who now must sign a pledge and obtain official permission to leave the country. Anyone trying to leave without authorisation will be turned away at airports, as some artists have already reported on social media.
For U Soe Thu, a Yangon-based political analyst, the election is “a one-man show orchestrated by the military junta.”
“Proxy fake parties, which the junta allowed to exist briefly, have now been eliminated to clear the pathway for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the military’s political vehicle. This election is designed to legitimise military control, not grant power to the people.”
Nay Zaw, a representative of the exiled Myanmar community in Mae Sot, Thailand, expressed serious concern about Aung San Suu Kyi's health; her son Kim Aris had already complained about her situation in September.
“Myanmar people are anxious. There is very limited information on Aung San Suu Kyi’s health. If she were to pass away, the junta may cover it up, denying the people the truth,” he said. “Her long-term detention has taken a toll [on her] physically and mentally, and the lack of transparency only fuels fear,” he added.
People inside and outside the country are calling for a show of international solidarity.
“Our struggle is not over. We want transparency, justice, and the free expression of our political will," Nay Zaw added, reflecting the sentiments of people inside and outside the country.
Recently on the ground, however, the junta has made progress. At the end of October, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), one of the main ethnic militias fighting against the military regime, announced it had signed a ceasefire agreement ahead of the upcoming elections thanks (once again) to China’s mediation.
Beijing is the military regime’s main sponsor but entertains relations with some ethnic resistance groups.
As part of the agreement with the TNLA, some cities in the Mandalay region are back under the junta's control.
Last Wednesday night, residents in Mogok rattled pots and pans in protest, a gesture to ward off evil spirits, which they did during the initial anti-coup protests.
Some sang patriotic songs not only against the recent agreement but also against China's role as mediator, the DVB reported.
At the same time, another local militia, the People's Defence Army (Mandalay) (MDY-PDF), which had fought alongside the TNLA, announced that it would continue to defend the liberated areas and would not allow “the sacrifices of the people to be wasted by political agreements imposed from the outside.”
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