Saying the Junta Only Holds Temporary Power, Myanmar's Senior General Calls for Military and People's Unity

Leader of the Myanmar military regime Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's senior general said on Wednesday that the military junta was only holding temporary power with the aim of strengthening democracy, calling for unity between society and the military to fight armed groups trying to thwart plans to hold elections.

Speaking at the annual Armed Forces Day parade, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led a coup in 2021, said his opponents received foreign support and were trying to destroy the country and thwart plans to return Myanmar to democratic rule.

"The military, police and people's militia are working to restore peace and stability," he told soldiers in the capital Naypyitaw, as reported by Reuters, March 28.

"We need to have unity between the military and the people," he said.

Senior General Min AUng Hlaing further said that opponents committed violence, looted and spread hatred, with the military being targeted by fake news from international journalists and social media users.

"Some powerful countries," he added, are trying to interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs by helping armed groups fight the military.

On the same occasion, he also urged veterans to re-enlist as part of a new military conscription effort.

"They provide assistance to these organizations in various ways. They try to destroy and weaken organizations that protect the interests of the people. So members of the security forces need to unite," he explained.

He also reiterated that the military had seized power because the 2020 election was marred by fraud, with nearly 30 percent of ballots invalid.

However, Aung San Suu Kyi's party, which won the vote by a landslide, denied the accusations. Suu Kyi is currently in prison and was sentenced to 27 years in prison for various alleged offences.

Min Aung Hlaing previously said the next election, for which no time was specified, would be held under a mixed proportional representation system that would be more inclusive.