Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
28-03-2023
NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar’s coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has pledged to deal decisively with “terrorists” fighting against his rule as the military put on an annual show of strength for Armed Forces Day.
The senior general delivered his remarks on Monday after soldiers marched in formation through a parade ground in the capital, Naypyidaw, backed by armoured vehicles, missiles and artillery as well as fighter jets and helicopters flying overhead.
Myanmar’s military has been accused of indiscriminate killings of civilians as it engages in major offensives to suppress the armed resistance opposed to its takeover of the government two years ago.
In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing said those who condemned his military government demonstrated indifference to the violence committed by its opponents.
Armed Forces Day marks the anniversary of the start of a 1945 uprising by the army against occupying Japanese forces. The country then called Burma attained independence from colonial power Britain in 1948 and has been ruled by a succession of military governments for most of the years since.
On February 1, 2021, the military toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, prompting peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with bloody violence that escalated since then and has been characterized by United Nations experts and others as a civil war.
Opposition to military rule is led by a self-styled National Unity Government (NUG) of elected legislators who were denied their seats by the army and stakes a claim to being the country’s legitimate administration.
Its armed wing, the loosely organized People’s Defense Forces (PDF) along with their armed ethnic minority allies, regularly attacks military columns, bases and outposts.
At the same time, the army and air force are hitting villages with artillery and air raids, often causing civilian casualties and being accused of other brutal human rights abuses. Their offences have displaced more than a million people, causing a humanitarian crisis.
His government has declared major resistance organizations to be terrorist groups, and anyone associated with them is subject to harsh punishment.
“The terror acts of the NUG and its lackey so-called PDFs are needed to be tackled for good and all,” Min Aung Hlaing said in his speech. (Int’l News Desk)
