The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, denounced, on Wednesday 29 March, the previous day’s decision by the military-appointed Union Election Commission of Myanmar to dissolve 40 political parties.
“This decision is yet another demonstration of the blatant disrespect by the military regime for democracy and the rights and wishes of the Myanmar population, and demonstrates the military regime’s determination to eradicate any democratic and peaceful opposition to its rule”, he said in a statement on behalf of the EU.
The High Representative considered that only an inclusive political process, involving democratic political parties, civil society, religious and minority leaders, can lead the way out of the protracted crisis in the country and “pave the way for a meaningful democratic process that would truly reflect the will of the Myanmar people and thus contribute to internal reconciliation and stability”.
He reiterated the EU’s support for the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), calling for progress in the November 2022 review of the ASEAN Five Point Consensus (see EUROPE 12706/18). “This becomes ever more urgent in light of the increasing number of reports of the atrocities being committed by the military on a daily basis across Myanmar”, he warned.
Political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and others that won the vast majority of voters in the 8 November 2020 elections, were dissolved because they were not registered with the military regime under the Political Parties Registration Law. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)