Myanmar’s military-appointed election commission said it would dissolve Burmese State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), because of alleged fraud in the country’s general election in November last year, the Myanmar Now news agency reported yesterday, citing a Burmese military official.
Myanmar Now said that the decision was made during a meeting with political parties, which was boycotted by the NLD and other parties.
“We will have to dissolve the party’s registration,” Burmese Union Election Commission chairman Thein Soe was cited as saying in the report.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Those who committed the fraud “will be considered as traitors and we will take action,” Thein Soe said.
Spokespeople for the junta as well as for a NLD-backed national unity government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party said that it had representatives at the meeting, which was still going on, adding that he was not aware of the outcome.
The military in February took power alleging fraud in the election swept by the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been fighting for democracy for decades before tentative reforms began a decade ago.
A later-disbanded electoral commission rejected the military’s complaints.
Security forces have killed more than 800 people since a wave of protests broke out after the coup, according to data by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners group.
Fighting has also flared between security forces and ethnic minority guerrilla groups.
The turmoil has alarmed Myanmar’s neigbors and the broader international community, but the military has shown no sign of any intention of seeking a compromise with the democracy movement.
Since her arrest on Feb. 1, Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention and faces numerous charges filed in two courts, the most serious under a colonial-era official secrets act, punishable by 14 years in prison.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, has been permitted to speak with lawyers only via a video link in the presence of security personnel. Her codefendant is Win Myint, the ousted president.
Opponents of the military have formed a national unity government, which operates under cover or through members based abroad.
It has announced that it is setting up of a defense force to challenge the junta.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi said that his country, a major donor to Myanmar, would rethink its aid provision if the situation in the Southeast Asian nation does not improve.
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