CRPH calls for stronger international action against Myanmar junta

Mizzima

The Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) released a statement on 1 February to mark five years since Myanmar’s illegal military coup. The statement strongly rejects the junta’s recent sham elections and calls on the international community to deny legitimacy to the military regime while increasing pressure, sanctions, and support for Myanmar’s democratic forces.

The full statement is as follows.

Today marks exactly five years since the terrorist military group, led by Min Aung Hlaing, forcibly seized state power from the democratically elected government in an illegal and lawless coup. Due to this coup, the country has fallen into an unprecedented and dire state of crisis.

Throughout these five years, the military council has waged war against its own people, conducting airstrikes on villages and civilian areas, torturing and killing political prisoners, and forcing millions to flee their homes. However, the people of Myanmar have demonstrated an unbreakable revolutionary spirit and a firm resolve to completely uproot the military dictatorship.

As the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)—the legitimate legislative body representing the will of the people expressed in the 2020 General Election—we reiterate that we absolutely do not recognize the sham elections held by the terrorist military group, nor any organization arising from them.

These fraudulent elections were conducted under duress, following the dissolution of major political parties, the imprisonment of democratic leaders including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and while intense fighting continues across more than one-third of the country. The sham parliament and government created to prolong the military dictatorship do not represent the will of the people and possess zero legal legitimacy. We urge international governments and organizations not to recognize the military’s new “political machinery.” Granting legitimacy to the military junta is equivalent to supporting mass killings and ignoring the democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people.

We – the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw reaffirms its commitment to establishing an inclusive Federal Union. We believe that sustainable peace and development can only be achieved by building a new Union based on democratic standards: equality, inclusivity, the rule of law, and human rights. We will continue to fight alongside the people until military interference in Myanmar politics is ended and a peaceful, prosperous, and genuine Federal Democratic Union is established.

On this anniversary, we reiterate our call to the international community to formally reject the military council’s fabricated political landscape and institutions, impose stricter sanctions on aviation fuel, financial flows, and arms supplies that enable the junta’s daily atrocities, increase pressure for the release of all political prisoners, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as increase humanitarian and political support for the National Unity Government (NUG), Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs), and the brave people of Myanmar.

On this 5th anniversary of the Spring Revolution, we pay our deepest respects and highest honors to the fallen heroes and martyrs who sacrificed their lives, bodies, futures, and dreams for democracy and human rights. Their sacrifice and history, written in blood, will forever serve as a beacon on the path to ending the military dictatorship and building a genuine Federal Democratic Union.

The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw expresses its profound gratitude to the people from all walks of life, members of the three parliaments, Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) officials, People’s Defense Forces (PDF), revolutionary artists, the youth, women, and the Myanmar diaspora who have remained resilient in the struggle to end the military dictatorship despite immense hardships.

We also extend our sincere thanks to individuals, social organizations, civil society groups, parliamentarians, parliaments, and governments globally and regionally who have stood in solidarity with the courageous people of Myanmar as they face life-threatening risks to fight for democracy and human rights.

In particular, standing on the side of truth rather than ignoring the military’s violence—and supporting the democratic hopes of the Myanmar people on the international stage—is a vital force for our path toward a free and equal Federal Democratic Union. The CRPH reaffirms that we will continue to collaborate with international friends who protect and support the rights and dignity of the Myanmar people, both now and in the future.