Myanmar Spring Chronicle – February 01 Scenes
MoeMaKa, February 02 2023
The military council extended the Military Rule for the next 6 months
On February 1, 2023, it will be exactly 2 years since the military coup, and citing the 2008 constitution, the military council has extended its right to take power for another 6-month term. The news was announced on the night of February 1.
Before February 1st, the National Defence and Security Council meeting, known as the NDSC meeting, was held on January 31, and initially said that the situation in Myanmar was still not normal. The next day, the military council extended their rule for another 6 months, saying that due to the current unusual situation, it was not yet possible to hold an election.
It is also a situation where we cannot say for sure whether it will not be extended again after this extension. Most assumed that the leader of the military council, Min Aung Hlaing, was taking control over the NDCS and the Acting President, who are just acting under his influence.
A few weeks before the 6-month term extension, General Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for the military council, said that he could not say with certainty that the election would be held in 2023. While Min Aung Hlaing said in military council meetings that the election would be held without a break and that it was proceeding on the one hand, he said that on the other hand, he could not say that the election would definitely be held in 2023. If you look at this, it means that this decision has already been made months ago to extend the extension of the emergency rule of the state.
As for the anti-dictator revolutionary forces, armed struggle is considered to be the main path, so there is no need to respond urgently to this decision of the military council. And as for the NUG and the ethnic armed organizations called EAO, extending the 6-month term by the military council or delaying the election is not an important issue about which to be concerned, as they are not accepting and relying on the path of the election.
On February 1st, Min Aung Hlaing released a nearly 30-page presentation-like report and discussion at the military council’s NDSC (National Defence and Security Council) meeting, which was attended by specially invited people. It was the first time that he spoke at length to excuse the military coup with allegations of vote fraud by pointing out the errors in the ballot list of the 2020 election and alleging that the Election Commission did not respond to the military’s inquiry at that time. In that report, he talked about NLD, CRPH, and NUG statistics on violence, blamed the PDF attacks on the recent ground censuses, and finally said that they intended to extend the period because the situation has not yet reached normality. Then, U Ti Khun Myat, the Chairman of the People’s Hluttaw, said that the Constitutional Court should be asked to interpret Section 425 of the Constitution. However, it is seen that the constitutional court has already been asked because it is the court appointed by the military council after the coup, and the word “ordinary” has already been interpreted according to the meaning that Min Aung Hlaing wants. As a result, the NDSC meeting, convened by Min Aung Hlaing, approved a 6-month term extension of what their military desires.
If you look at this situation, you will see that the military is only trying to strengthen its power by treating the 2008 Constitution as if it still exists. It must be said that such a move by Min Aung Hlaing, who has assumed the role of Chairman of the Military Council, is not unusual, but just one of the tricks used by those who seize military power.