Mizzima/AFP
Myanmar's junta chief, flanked by tanks and missile launchers, used the annual Armed Forces Day to stress he would continue the crackdown on opponents and was committed to holding nationwide elections.
Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, speaking to the 8,000 armed forces members and guests on the Naypyitaw parade ground, reiterated his commitment to take decisive action against its opponents and ethnic rebels supporting them, and to hold elections, as the regime seeks to legitimize its rule.
"The terror acts of NUG and its lackey so-called PDFs need to be tackled for good and all," he said, referring to the "National Unity Government", a body dominated by ousted lawmakers working to reverse the coup.
The junta would then hold "free and fair elections" upon the completion of the state of emergency, he said.
In his speech, Min Aung Hlaing claimed “the 2008 Constitution was not drafted according to the wishes of any individual or organization. Rather, it was the result of a national conference where eight groups, consisting of over a thousand representatives, engaged in extensive discussions to draft the constitution.”
“The 2008 Constitution was created through the overwhelming will of the people, and therefore, it is essential that everyone respects it, including members of the Tatmadaw who are also born from the citizens and should follow it.”
“Article 20 (f) of the 2008 Constitution clearly stipulates that the Tatmadaw is mainly responsible for safeguarding the Constitution.”
Seeking to bestow legitimacy on his regime, the junta leader said the State Administration Council (SAC) – the official name of the regime - is a government that emerged following the declaration of a political emergency in accordance with the constitution.to prevent the previous NLD (National League for Democracy) government from trying to take power through electoral fraud.”
Min Aung Hlaing added that “in accordance with the five work plans established by the government, the Tatmadaw will work seriously to achieve stability and the rule of law throughout the Union for the security of the social and economic life of the people throughout the country. In doing so, I would like to say that we will take decisive action against NUG and terrorist organizations, as well as EAO (Ethnic Armed Organizations) organizations that support them.”
The military announced last month a six-month extension of a two-year state of emergency and postponed elections it had promised to hold by August because it did not control enough of the country for a vote to take place.
"Serenity and stability are vital" before any election could go ahead, Min Aung Hlaing told the parade.
Armed Forces Day commemorates the start of resistance to the Japanese occupation during World War II. It usually features a military parade attended by foreign officers and diplomats.
Workers made last-minute inspections of the parade ground early on Monday, the hulking statues of three of Myanmar's empire-building kings looming out of the dark.
Planes later trailed smoke in the yellow, red and green of the national flag as Russian-made Yak and Sukoi Su-30 jets made several flyovers.
Marching bands played bagpipes and brass, at times duelling with each other, and state media images showed women lining the streets to garland marching soldiers with flowers.
New junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was inspecting the parade two years ago when troops launched a countrywide crackdown on those protesting against the coup that had ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government.
Rights groups and opponents have since accused the military of torching villages and using air and artillery strikes as collective punishment for opponents.
Min Aung Hlaing slammed the "criticism and condemnation" levelled at the junta, accusing some countries of supporting terrorists.
Officials from major junta allies and arms suppliers Russia and China attended, and India also sent a representative.
New Delhi has defended its ties with the junta, saying India cannot avoid dealing with its neighbour because of cross-border issues such as organised crime.
The United States announced on Friday new sanctions targeting the supply of jet fuel to the junta.
The situation in Myanmar is a "festering catastrophe" two years after the coup, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said this month, adding that the military was operating with "complete impunity".
Diplomatic efforts to defuse the bloody crisis, led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have made little progress.
A Myanmar official said seven countries from the 10-nation bloc sent representatives to the parade, including Malaysia and Indonesia, who are among the group's most vocal critics of the junta.
More than 3,100 people have been killed in the military's crackdown on dissent since the coup, according to a local monitoring group.
More than a million people have been displaced by fighting, according to the United Nations.
The junta wrapped up a series of closed-court trials of Aung San Suu Kyi in December, jailing her for a total of 33 years in a process rights groups have condemned as a sham.
