Myanmar government in exile calls on Taiwan to reject

緬甸流亡政府呼籲台灣拒絕“虛假”選舉

Taiwan's criticism stops short of Japan's, says will follow international community


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Myanmar’s democratically elected government in exile is calling on Taiwan and other Asian democracies to reject the legitimacy of the military government’s planned elections, saying that they are neither free nor fair, and only serve to formalize continuing military rule.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won over 80% of the vote in the 2020 general election, but was overthrown in a coup that established a military government. In March, the NLD and 39 other parties were dissolved by the military government for not complying with recently imposed electoral laws, which the NLD says are undemocratic, per Nikkei.

"We urge Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and others in the region to recognize the [Myanmar military's] sham elections for what they are. The polls are designed to create a veneer of democratic legitimacy for the Burmese generals," said Dr. Sasa, Minister of International Cooperation for the National Unity Government (NUG).

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson provided a statement to Taiwan News on Wednesday (April 5) and said the ministry was aware of the dissolution of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. They added that Taiwan joins the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Australia, and others in calling for a more inclusive political process in Myanmar.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again calls on all parties in Myanmar to engage in rational dialogue, and strive to hold democratic elections in which all parties can participate equally, restore democratic politics as soon as possible, and protect the rights of the Myanmar people,” the statement said.

The Ministry also said that it will continue to “pay close attention” to the country’s political developments, and support “actions taken by the international community to restore democracy and protect human rights in Myanmar,” echoing a statement it made in February.

Other Asian democracies have largely remained quiet on the issue of Myanmar’s military rule, with the exception of Japan, which on March 29 expressed “serious concern” about the exclusion of the NLD from elections. “Japan strongly urges the Myanmar military to immediately release NLD leaders, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, and to show a path towards a peaceful resolution of the situation,” it said.

Aung San Suu Ky has been under arrest since February 2021, and nominally leads Myanmar’s exiled government. She has been sentenced to 33 years in prison by the military government on a range of charges, including corruption and electoral fraud, widely understood to be politically motivated.

According to the Myanmar Association for Political Prisoners, over 21,000 people have been arrested since the 2021 coup, and 3,211 have been killed.