Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing becomes president

Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the coup regime that overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government five years ago, has been named president following a vote in the country’s junta-controlled Union Parliament. The long-anticipated move, which comes days after his resignation as armed forces commander-in-chief and nomination as a presidential candidate on Monday, completes his transformation from junta strongman to quasi-civilian leader. He assumes his new position after receiving more votes than the other two candidates: Nan Ni Ni Aye, the chair of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party for Karen State, and Nyo Saw, a former general nominated by the military’s 25 percent bloc in parliament. Nyo Saw, who received the second most votes, was named vice president (1) of the new administration, while third-place Nan Ni Ni Aye has been appointed vice president (2). Min Aung Hlaing’s retirement as commander-in-chief on Monday came exactly 15 years after he took over the position from former dictator Than Shwe on March 30, 2011. During his tenure as head of the military, Min Aung Hlaing oversaw not only the 2021 coup, but also the Rohingya genocide in Rakhine State that culminated in 2017 with the mass killing of civilians and the destruction of towns and villages, forcing nearly a million Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Now that he has been named president, he is expected to form a new cabinet within days, with close military generals occupying all key positions within the government and the parliament. The public response to Min Aung Hlaing’s ascension to a position he has long coveted has been muted. “I don’t expect anything to come of it. He staged a coup because he was power-mad for the presidency and just changed from military clothes to civilian clothes,” said one man living in Naypyitaw, the regime’s administrative centre. “If it has truly changed to democracy, can we now speak about our dissatisfactions on social media? We still have to wait and see how much freedom there will be,” he added. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Political Coordination Body, a group consisting of veteran activists and party leaders not affiliated with the regime or the publicly mandated National Unity Government, demanded that the new administration release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; stop military actions that harm civilians; and hold political talks aimed at establishing a federal democratic union. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s ousted ruling party, the National League for Democracy, and Win Myint, the president at the time of the 2021 takeover, both remain in detention more than five years after being forced from power.

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing becomes president

The move completes his transformation from military strongman to “civilian” leader after five years at the helm of a brutal regime

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