中文
BMA Mockery of Democracy
Today, as the world celebrates the principles of democracy—including the free and fair elections, Myanmar’s illegal military junta stands exposed for its relentless assault on those very ideals. The so-called “elections” orchestrated by the military regime are not a restoration of democracy but but a calculated ploy to entrench military rule and extend authoritarian control. These polls are conducted amid systematic violence, mass detentions, the dismantling of genuine opposition, and the exclusion of millions through conflict and displacement. These are conditions fundamentally hostile to free, fair, and participatory elections.
Since the coup in February 2021, the junta has waged a campaign of terror and repression against the people of Myanmar. Over 5,000 civilians have been killed, more than 30,000 arbitrarily detained, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Trade unions have been systematically targeted, with at least 151 trade union leaders arrested and 37 killed for their activism. These attacks have dismantled fundamental freedoms, including the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
The junta’s assault on freedom of expression has also intensified. At least 11 media workers have been killed since the coup. Over 220 journalists from more than 100 media outlets have been detained, with 176 of them charged under nine separate laws, including incitement, “false news,” and sweeping counter-terrorism provisions. As of July 2025, 49 journalists remained behind bars.
To make matters worse, the junta has rebranded its governing body from the “State Administration Council” (SAC) to the “State Security and Peace Commission” (SSPC). This rebranding is a strategic ploy to circumvent international sanctions. The name may have changed, but the violence, repression, and impunity remain the same.
The world must not forget the junta’s blatant refusal to honor the people’s landslide verdict in the 1990 election, or how it rigged the 2010 vote to install a quasi-civilian government that tricked many into believing in a false dawn of reform. To be deceived again by the same playbook would be a willful disregard of history and a betrayal of the Myanmar people’s enduring and bloody struggle for genuine democracy.
Elections held under martial law, with legitimate and independent political parties banned, journalists silenced, and entire regions subjected to occupation and terror, are a mockery of democracy. They are not a pathway to restoration—they are a deliberate façade. The military’s “roadmap” is paved with bloodshed, intimidation, and exclusion; it leads only to permanent authoritarianism and continued suffering for the people of Myanmar.
Here in Malaysia, the call for free and fair elections is not an abstract concept; it is a core principle of our own democratic struggle. Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political legacy is intrinsically linked to this struggle, having been a central figure in the BERSIH movement in early days. The very principles of transparency, fairness, and respect for the people’s will that he championed on the streets of Kuala Lumpur must now be applied with moral clarity from the Chair of ASEAN. To remain silent or offer tacit acceptance of the junta’s electoral charade would be a profound contradiction of his unwavering domestic stance. Consistency demands that a leader who fights for clean elections at home must unequivocally condemn fabricated elections abroad; this is therefore not just a foreign policy issue, but a test of the principles that form the bedrock of his leadership.
We therefore issue this urgent call to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, as the Chair of ASEAN to rally Malaysia and other ASEAN governments to:
1. Reject the Myanmar junta’s sham elections: Denounce and do not recognize the elections’ legitimacy, outcome, or any governing structure that arises from them. These elections must be exposed as political manoeuvre to consolidate military rule and whitewash human rights abuses.
2. Boycott the sham elections: We call on all democratic forces, inside and outside Myanmar, to actively boycott these sham elections. Participation will only serve to whitewash military atrocities and undermine the democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar.
3. Maintain and Enforce Sanctions: Close the loophole created by the junta’s rebranding of the SAC to the SSPC and to relentlessly continue to enforce and monitor sanctions. Any failure to sanction the SSPC as the direct continuation of the SAC will embolden the junta and undermine global accountability efforts.
There Can Be No Democracy Without the People
The people of Myanmar have already spoken. Through mass protests, civil disobedience, and ongoing resistance, they have made clear that they reject military rule and demand a genuine democratic transition.
We stand in solidarity with Myanmar’s workers, youth, ethnic nationalities, and democratic forces. We will not normalize dictatorship. We will not remain silent. And we will not allow this electoral charade to subvert the sovereign will of the people who determined to be free.