Two years after the coup, the Burmese junta's show of force

Members of Myanmar's military take part in a parade to mark the country's 78th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on March 27, 2023. AFP - STR

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The Burmese military regime organized, Monday, March 27, a large show of force for its annual parade of the day of the armed forces. In a rare address, the junta leader vowed to crush the resistance, as the country has been plunged into a bloody civil war for more than three years.

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Tanks, missile launchers, fighter jets or combat helicopters of Russian and Chinese manufacture... For this 75th parade, the military regime pulled out the big game by flaunting its arsenal, some of which were used, according to NGOs, to strike inhabited civilian areas opposed to the junta.

In a rare speech, General Min Aung Hlaing sent an unequivocal message. Its opponents – described as "terrorists" – will be fought to the end, whatever the cost. "The acts of terror of the NUG and its lackeys, the so-called PDFs, must be fought for good," he said, referring to the "Government of National Unity" (NUG), a body dominated by former MPs from Aung San Suu Kyi's party, many of whom are in exile.

A "catastrophe that is escalating

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In the second phase of the state of emergency, martial law will be extended to other major cities, the junta leader said. The goal is to regain control of large areas dominated by dozens of ethnic rebel groups gathered today around PDFs, the People's Defense Forces, to fight the Burmese military.

What about the elections so eagerly awaited by the population since the ouster of the democratically elected civilian power? Originally scheduled for August, they have been postponed and will not take place for at least two years, when the state of emergency ends, if peace has returned.

Two years after the coup, the situation in Myanmaris a "catastrophe that is escalating", Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in early March, adding thatthe military acts with "impunity".

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Read on on the same topics:

• Burma
• Aung San Suu Kyi