Western Nations Condemn Myanmar’s Military for Dissolution of Ruling Party

Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States have expressed concern about the Myanmar military’s dissolution of the country’s former ruling party, warning that the move could exacerbate the country’s already volatile situation.

On Wednesday, the Myanmar military disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and 39 other parties for failing to meet a registration deadline for an election that is expected to extend the army’s grip on power.

The NLD has repeatedly denied running in the election, calling it illegitimate.

“We are seriously concerned that the exclusion of the NLD from the political process will make it even more difficult to improve the situation,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Japan strongly urges Myanmar to immediately release NLD officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to demonstrate a path toward a peaceful resolution of the issue involving all parties involved.”

A spokesperson for Myanmar’s military could not be reached for comment immediately. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the military regime’s leader, urged international critics on Monday to support his efforts to restore democracy.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup in February 2021 deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, upending a decade of tentative democracy.

Myanmar military kill squads

Myanmar’s security forces killed over 3,000 people in a bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters, sparking an armed rebellion against military rule. According to the United Nations, fighting has displaced over a million people.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, who was detained by the military during the coup, is serving a 33-year sentence in prison after being convicted on various charges, and dozens of her National League for Democracy allies are also in jail or have fled.

Meanwhile, despite conflict raging across the country in the aftermath of a coup two years ago and major parties unable or unwilling to participate, Myanmar’s ruling military is pushing ahead with plans for an election.

The army has ruled Myanmar for five of the past six decades and had transitioned to a quasi-civilian political system in which the military shared power with an elected government in the ten years prior to the coup.

The military devised this system to allow it to step back from direct rule while maintaining an important political role in which it could protect its own interests without being at the mercy of elected politicians.

It was a success, at least when compared to the decades of authoritarian rule, sanctions, and economic decline that came before it. Myanmar’s brief foray into democracy and civilian rule resulted in unprecedented reform, Western investment, and economic liberalisation. The February 2021 coup, however, has unravelled much of that.

The generals intervened just hours before a new parliament was to convene, citing unresolved irregularities in a three-month-old election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party by a landslide. Election monitors, on the other hand, discovered no significant problems.

Weakening Myanmar’s Military

Experts believe the military’s top brass staged the coup for self-preservation. The NLD, their bitter rival, won nearly 80% of the available seats in the election, compared to less than 7% for the military’s proxy party – a victory large enough to launch a serious effort to change the constitution to weaken the military’s political power and make it accountable to elected governments.

Suu Kyi, 77, is serving 33 years in prison after being convicted on multiple charges that her supporters claim were fabricated to end her political career. Dozens of NLD officials are also imprisoned or have fled the country.

The junta dissolved the NLD and 39 other parties after they failed to meet the election registration deadline on Tuesday, with many of those unwilling or unable to participate, including the NLD.

Many opposition figures and activists see the election as a sham, and some have joined a shadow government that seeks to undermine the military, or have joined a resistance movement.

Hints of Elections

The election date has not been set, but with the NLD out of the picture and the majority of the 63 registered parties contesting seats only in regional legislatures, the military’s proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), is almost certain to win at the national level.

Before the transition, the previous military government established the USDP. It dominated a 2010 election boycotted by the NLD and many other parties, but was soundly defeated in 2015 and again in 2020, before the vote was cancelled.

Despite its leaders being in charge of the majority of Myanmar’s major reforms, the USDP remains unpopular and associated with military rule. Locals are likely to be skeptical of another USDP government.

Many Western countries and international organizations have already declared the election invalid and expressed concern that key stakeholders in Myanmar are being excluded from the political process. They are also concerned that it will exacerbate the conflict.

Many economic sanctions that were lifted in recognition of post-2011 reforms have been re-imposed, and it is unlikely that the election or the early actions of the new government will result in their lifting anytime soon.

Myanmar’s neighbors, who have previously preferred a policy of engagement with the military, may take a wait-and-see approach, including with regard to investments in the country.