The head of Burma’s ruling military council, in a speech to mark Armed Forces Day on Wednesday, said that the country’s youth have been tricked into supporting the resistance against military rule, and that ethnic armed groups allied with the resistance. drug trafficking, natural resource smuggling, and illegal gambling.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing says thousands of soldiers will continue their annual show of strength even as the army suffers an unprecedented series of battlefield defeats, tarnishing its once invincible reputation. He gave a lecture in the capital, Naypyitaw, where a parade was held.
Touching on familiar themes, Min Aung Hlaing condemned the resistance forces for disrupting the planned but not yet scheduled election process and appealed to the international community not to support them. Earlier this month, he told Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency that elections could be held in peaceful and stable regions of the country.
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Many Western countries have imposed sanctions on the generals ruling Burma over their 2021 seizure of power and brutal crackdown on rebels. More than 2 million people have been displaced by military attacks since then, according to the United Nations.
Military Council Chairman Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing stands on a military truck and inspects officers during a parade to commemorate Burma’s 79th National Armed Forces Day, Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Naypyitaw, Burma. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Min Aung Hlaing said: “It is disheartening to see young people becoming scapegoats for the opposition, misled by false propaganda caused by media obstruction.” It also accused anonymous ethnic armed groups of “destroying the path to unionization based on democratic values and federalism.”
The military ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, accusing her of winning the 2020 election with massive voter fraud, citing evidence that an independent poll group disputed.
The military’s crackdown on protests against the takeover sparked armed resistance across the country. Thousands of young people have fled to the jungles and mountains of remote border areas, seeking autonomy and making common cause with ethnic guerrilla forces trained in decades of combat with the military.
Over the past five months, Min Aung Hlaing’s forces have been routed in northern Shan state, conceded large swaths of territory in western Rakhine state, and have escalated attacks elsewhere.
As losses mounted and morale plummeted, the authorities invoked conscription laws to strengthen their position.
The military and some ethnic minorities based in border areas have been accused of engaging in illegal activities such as drug production or providing protection for casino complexes that have become hubs for illegal online fraud. It’s been criticized.
The parade to mark this year’s 79th Armed Forces Day was held at sunset for the first time since Naypyidaw became the capital in 2006. Previously, it was held at sunrise. Major General Zaw Min Tun, a spokesman for the ruling Military Council, said the change was due to the unusually hot weather caused by the El Niño phenomenon.
Armed Forces Day commemorates the day in 1945 when the Burmese army began fighting the occupying Japanese army after driving out the British army.
The British and Canadian embassies said in statements to mark Armed Forces Day that civilians across the country have been targeted by military attacks, including airstrikes on homes, schools, medical facilities and places of worship.
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In a statement, Canada called on countries to “immediately halt the sale or transfer of arms, military equipment, munitions, aviation fuel, and military technical assistance to Myanmar.”
