Military council criticised for extending State of Emergency

By DMG 01 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
1 February 2022, Yangon

The Myanmar junta’s extension of a State of Emergency for another six months has raised criticism in some quarters, with the announcement coming on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the military seizing power in a coup on February 1, 2021.

U Aung Than Wai, a resident of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, said the January 31 announcement from the National Defence and Security Council meant the continuation of a status quo that has proved disastrous for the country and its people.

“No country develops, and people are not comfortable with their livelihoods, under dictatorship,” he said. “I have never seen that people can enjoy health, education and social benefits under it [dictatorship]. Therefore, I don’t accept the six-month extension.”

A former Pyithu Hluttaw lawmaker for Myebon Township, U Pe Than, said Myanmar’s economy and social conditions are expected to further decline.

“The situation in Myanmar has not reached a point of discussion. The PDF movement is likely to gain strength. At the same time, it is sure that there will be a deterioration in the economy and social affairs on all fronts,” he said.

U Khin Maung Gyi, vice chairman of the Rakhine Economic Initiative Public Co. Ltd., said the economy in Arakan State had been stable in the past but has been in decline since the coup.

“We had hoped the situation would get better at the end of 2010, but now everything is gone. So, I don’t think there will be any improvement in the future,” he told DMG.

Following the military coup on February 1, 2021, rising commodity prices and broader inflation concerns have dominated average citizens’ everyday economic realities.

Ko Khaing Tun Aung, a trishaw driver in Ponnagyun Township, said: “Before the coup, it was convenient if we earned K15,000 a day. Nowadays, the fuel price and commodity prices are rising, so it is not convenient.”

The National Defence and Security Council announcement cited its purported authority under Section 425 of the Constitution, describing a meeting of the council on Monday in which coup leader Min Aung Hlaing’s proposal to extend the State of Emergency was unanimously approved.