The country will never achieve peace as long as the military junta continues to interfere in political affairs, said Min Than Lwin, spokesperson for the New Ramanya Federal Force (NRFF).
He added that ongoing political instability is causing a steady decline in key sectors such as the economy, education, and healthcare.
“As long as the violent military continues to manipulate political matters, our country will never be peaceful,” Min Than Lwin stated. “If this doesn’t change, we’ll only end up in a state of false peace. Then, the military will seize power again, and the people will continue to suffer, be harmed, and die. The cycle of destruction won’t end. That’s why I want to say clearly—if we want a truly peaceful and stable nation, we must all stand together right now to eliminate the root cause of the problem: the violent military and the dictatorship.”
Under the 2008 Constitution, the military reserves 25% of parliamentary seats and directly appoints its representatives. It also retains autonomous administrative powers, meaning it does not fall under the control of a civilian government elected by the people.
Claiming election fraud in the 2020 general election, the military seized power from the civilian government, sparking widespread armed conflict across the country.
U Zaw Min Naing, an agriculture and economic advisor, emphasized that peace is essential for a country’s development and that ongoing armed conflict only brings hardship to the public.
“Myanmar is an agricultural country. Farming must happen in the right season. After harvesting, the produce goes to export or domestic markets. However, as the conflict expanded, farmers could no longer grow rice or other crops as usual. Now, forget about exporting—there is already hunger within the country. According to current data, about 20 million people are affected by food insecurity and are in need of humanitarian assistance. In this situation, people can’t live comfortably. Even those in relatively peaceful areas struggle in their own ways,” he said. “To put it simply, without peace, there can be no development.”
He further explained that due to armed conflict and damage caused by ongoing earthquakes, Myanmar’s economy has no chance of progressing and is merely trying to avoid further decline.
Since the 2021 military coup, the military junta has taken control of all sectors of the country and is now preparing to hold a general election.
Even under the previous civilian government, ethnic armed groups, government representatives, and the military held peace talks, during which the issue of removing the military from politics was discussed. However, those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
