Myanmar Extends State of Emergency

Myanmar Extends State of EmergencyMyanmar's junta has decided to extend a state of emergency by six months. The move comes four years after they seized power, leading to civil war that has claimed thousands of lives.The country is mired in a bloody multi-sided conflict that stems from the Feb. 1, 2021 putsch that ended a 10-year experiment with democracy.The military is struggling to contain armed resistance to its rule and suffering a series of damaging battlefield losses over the past year to an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups in the north and west of the country.The ruling military council headed by army chief Min Aung Hlaing has unanimously approved the extension. The junta's information team released a statement.All members of National Defense and Security Council, including the commander in chief as well as acting president decided in unison for the extension of the state of emergency for another six months according to section 425 of the 2008 constitution," the statement said.Elections cannot be held under a state of emergency. So long-promised polls that the junta has said will be held in 2025 will not take place until the second half of the year at the earliest.Min Aung Hlaing told the ruling council that "peace and stability is still needed" before the state of emergency can be lifted, and polls held.The military seized power after making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the 2020 elections. The NLD won by a landslide.It has extended the state of emergency multiple times since as it battles established ethnic minority armed groups and newer pro-democracy "People's Defense Forces."

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