US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the international community on Friday August 5 not to support the plan of the Burmese junta, which wants to organize elections next year, a “
sham
” election according to him.
The United States "
strongly encourages the international community not to endorse the regime's plans to hold a sham election next year
," the minister said from Phnom Penh where he met with ASEAN representatives.
"
They can be neither free nor fair under current conditions
," insisted the head of diplomacy.
Antony Blinken spoke two days after a visit by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to Naypyidaw, where he wished the military regime "
success
" for the next election.
The stay of Sergei Lavrov, who notably met the leader of the junta Min Aung Hlaing, "
goes against the Asean
which is trying to resolve the Burmese crisis through mediation, launched the American Secretary of State.
The military seized power by force on February 1, 2021 under the pretext of alleged fraud in the previous year's elections, which was overwhelmingly won by the pro-democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Read alsoIn Burma, the junta plays the escalation of terror in the face of armed resistance
After the coup, she assured that she would organize new elections, which could take place in August 2023. But the country, in the grip of a violent civil conflict, must first be “
at peace and stability
” .
, warned Min Aung Hlaing.
The junta has been pursuing a bloody repression against its opponents since the putsch, with more than 2,100 civilians killed and nearly 15,000 arrested, according to a local NGO.
Burma is increasingly isolated on the international scene, after the execution at the end of July of four prisoners sentenced to death, including two figures of the pro-democracy opposition.
The country had not applied a death penalty in more than thirty years.
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