Myanmar (International Christian Concern) — Foreign Ministers from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines suddenly cancelled a planned visit to Myanmar last week, according to reports. The delegation, from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), was set to discuss the country’s upcoming elections before being turned away by a military junta that appears resistant to outside input on the December vote. 

Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said that the trip would be rescheduled for early October but did not provide a date or any further details, according to Nikkea Asia. 

The trip was originally announced in August, with Mohamad emphasizing that the elections must benefit the people of Myanmar rather than simply buoy the ruling junta. The junta, which has used emergency powers to suppress dissent and postpone elections since seizing power in 2021, declared an end to the state of emergency on July 31. 

“The state of emergency is abolished,” a junta spokesperson said at the time, “in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multiparty democracy.” 

The country’s military rulers see the vote as a potential step toward legitimizing their rule and its best chance at gaining broad international recognition. While Russia, China, and India have supported the junta both internally and on the international stage, few countries globally have recognized the regime, and it remains sidelined by ASEAN, a key regional bloc. 

Analysts warn the election is likely to be a sham, designed to consolidate the junta’s power. The regime controls only a limited portion of the country and lacks the logistical capacity to conduct free and fair elections in opposition-held areas. It has imprisoned or killed thousands of opposition figures, pro-democracy activists, and journalists, and has shown no signs of easing restrictions ahead of the vote. 

A 2024 census — framed as a step toward the election — failed to collect data from at least 40% of the country. Recent estimates suggest the junta controls roughly 20% of Myanmar, with opposition militias holding significant territory in the country’s mountainous and forested regions. 

At a July ASEAN meeting, Foreign Minister Mohamad characterized Myanmar’s upcoming election as premature, urging instead a focus on ending violence and fostering inclusive dialogue. 

“We advised Myanmar that an election is not a priority for now,” Hasan said. “The priority is to cease all violence … so that all parties can sit together.” 

Myanmar’s military has battled segments of its own population for decades in what is now the world’s longest-running civil war. Its 2021 power grab enabled the junta to expand military operations, particularly against ethnoreligious minority resistance groups. 

According to data released this week by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the regime has arrested 29,738 people since 2021, including 625 children. Of those, 22,448 remain behind bars. AAPP has verified 7,284 regime killings, with another 3,900 deaths suspected but not yet confirmed. 

The military frequently employs airstrikes on civilian areas linked to resistance efforts. In one of the most striking examples, the junta launched airstrikes on civilian zones just hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country in late March. The strikes targeted survivors and rescue workers searching for people trapped in the rubble. Northern Shan state was bombed within three hours of the quake, followed by attacks in Karen state — the quake’s epicenter — as well as Sagaing and areas near the Thai border. 

The military’s decision to bomb civilians amid earthquake rescue efforts is “nothing short of incredible,” Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, told the BBC. 

In March, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a report condemning the junta’s systematic persecution of religious minorities and calling on the global community to increase pressure on the regime. 

“The country has seen the displacement of over 3.5 million people in recent years,” the report noted, “including more than 90,000 in Christian-majority Chin State, 237,200 in Kachin State, and one million Muslim-majority Rohingya refugees.” 

While most of Myanmar’s population is ethnic Burman and predominantly Buddhist, the country is home to long-established ethnic and religious minority communities, many of which predate the modern state by centuries. 

In many regions, religious and ethnic identities overlap. Roughly 20% to 30% of the Karen identify as Christian, while other groups, such as the Chin, are more than 90% Christian. This intersection has heightened the vulnerability of minority groups. 

Rooted in an extremist interpretation of Buddhism, Myanmar’s military has a well-documented history of violence against the population — including targeted campaigns against Muslim-majority Rohingya and Christian-majority Chin communities. 

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