ASEAN Parliamentarians demand action against the Myanmar junta

Mizzima

The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) released a statement on 5 August, criticizing Myanmar’s junta for attempts to legitimize its rule through a sham election.

The text of the APHR statement continues below.

As Myanmar military reshuffles its power under the guise of electoral reform, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) joins the regional collective outcry following Min Aung Hlaing’s latest attempt to make their rule look legitimate through a sham election.

The junta’s recent claim of returning state power by dissolving the State Administration Council and forming a new governing body is nothing more than a rebranding exercise. This move highlights the military ongoing strategy of reshuffling titles and structures to keep control and avoid accountability. Despite the formal dissolution, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, continues to hold all key powers under new titles, reinforcing the entrenched cycle of impunity that has defined the junta’s rule since the coup in 2021.

This act ignores the struggles of the Myanmar people, who for more than four years have endured arrests, torture and airstrikes simply for speaking out.