Myanmar Junta Chief Sworn in as President
No! AFP journalists saw Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing sworn in as president on Friday, resuming his rule from a civilian post five years after seizing power in a military coup.
Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s armed forces chief, overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, detaining the Nobel Peace Prize winner and triggering a civil war.
After ruling by dictatorship for half a decade, he held an election in January that sidelined his party and secured a victory for military allies in civilian politics that put him in top office.
At a triumphant parliamentary ceremony in the sprawling capital Naypyidaw, the 69-year-old was seen reading aloud his presidential oath, pledging to “strive to further advance the eternal principles of justice, freedom and equality”.
“I will dedicate myself to the service of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,” he said as he began his five-year term.
Min Aung Hlaing has resigned as a top general to take over as head of a new government ahead of Myanmar’s Thingyan holiday, which begins on Monday and celebrates the new year with water splashing ceremonies for renewal and rejuvenation.
But democracy watchers deride the transition as a rebranding of military rule in an unconvincing civilian guise.
AFP reporters saw bomb squads patrolling Naypyidaw hotels ahead of the ceremony and the parliament being taken over by rings of checkpoints.
The junta declared the election as the return of power to the people and a chance for reconciliation in the civil war.
But more than two-thirds of Min Aung Hlaing’s 30 ministers, who were also sworn in on Friday, are either retired or serving military members.
While a similar proportion served in the post-coup junta leadership, more than ten were subject to international sanctions.
Myanmar’s post-coup leaders are seen as pariahs by many countries abroad.
Analysts say one aim of the election was to normalize their image with a veneer of legitimacy, freezing external interaction, including investment projects.
Representatives from neighboring countries China, India and Thailand attended Friday’s ceremony.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul sent a congratulatory message this week, saying the nations’ relations will “grow from strength to strength” under Min Aung Hlaing’s “able leadership,” according to Myanmar state media.
But analysts say China is the biggest supporter of the election and discussions about Beijing-backed infrastructure projects have now been revived.
Myanmar’s military has ruled the country for most of its post-independence history.
A rare decade-long interim period that began in 2011 saw top officials loosen control and Suu Kyi’s civilian government temporarily take the reins in a burst of optimism and reform.
Analysts say the military is taking back power in 2021 out of concern about its waning influence after a landslide victory over pro-military parties in the 2020 election.
The rerun of the vote, organized by the junta, excluded parties that won more than 90 percent of seats in 2020 and made protest or criticism of the poll punishable by prison terms, according to the Asian Network for Free Elections.
There was no vote in some parts of the country captured by rebels who fought the army and refused to vote; Min Aung Hlaing’s tenure has become even weaker, according to rights watchdogs.
