Myanmar: The United States, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom have expressed their opposition to the Myanmar military’s dissolution of the country’s former ruling party and warned that the move could bring further instability to the country.
The statements of concern came after the Myanmar military disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and 39 other parties over their failure to meet a deadline to register for an election that is set to extend the army’s grip on power. The NLD has repeatedly ruled out running in the poll, calling it illegitimate.
The US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that Washington “strongly condemns” the decision to abolish 40 political parties.
“We are seriously concerned that the exclusion of the NLD from the political process will make it even more difficult to improve the situation,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry noted in a statement.
“Japan strongly urges Myanmar to immediately release NLD officials, including Suu Kyi, and to show a path toward a peaceful resolution of the issue in a manner that includes all parties concerned,” the Ministry added.
The UK’s Foreign Office criticised the dissolution of the NLD and other parties as an “assault on the rights and freedoms” of the Myanmar people.
“We condemn the military regime’s politically motivated actions and their use of increasingly brutal tactics to sow fear and repress opposition,” a Foreign Office spokesperson remarked.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated that it was seriously concerned about a further narrowing of political space in Myanmar due to tough election registration requirements.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup that deposed Ms. Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021.
Ms. Suu Kyi, 77, whom the military arrested during the coup, is serving a 33-year term in prison after being convicted on various charges, and dozens of her NLD allies are also in jail or have fled.
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