Myanmar junta chief sworn in as president

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - NAYPYIDAW — Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as President on Friday, continuing his rule from a civilian post five years after snatching power in a military coup.

A triumphant parliamentary ceremony in the sprawling capital Naypyidaw saw the 69-year-old read aloud the presidential oath promising to “strive for further flourishing the eternal principles of justice, liberty and equality.”

In his inaugural address to parliament, Min Aung Hlaing said his government has "many challenges to overcome" and would seek to normalise ties with the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN.

"Myanmar is now well on its way toward democracy but the new government has a lot of challenges to overcome," Min Aung Hlaing said in the speech, which lasted less than 20 minutes and was attended by more than 50 foreign guests.

"Our priorities are democracy and peace," he added.

As the nation’s armed forces chief, Min Aung Hlaing ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 — detaining the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and triggering a civil war.

After a half-decade of ruling by diktat, he organized an election concluding in January excluding her party and securing a walkover win for military allies in civilian politics who backed him into the top office.

Min Aung Hlaing has resigned as top general to take over as president of the new government ahead of Myanmar’s Thingyan holiday starting Monday, which celebrates the new year with water-splashing ceremonies of renewal and rejuvenation.

However democracy watchdogs deride the transition as a rebranding of military rule in an unconvincing civilian disguise.

The junta trumpeted the election as a return of power to the people and a chance for reconciliation in the civil war.

But more than two-thirds of Min Aung Hlaing’s 30 ministers, also sworn in Friday, are either retired or serving members of the military.

A similar proportion served in the post-coup junta leadership, while more than ten have been subject to international sanctions.

Myanmar’s post-coup leaders have been considered pariahs by many nations abroad.

Analysts say one aim of the election was to normalize their image with a veneer of legitimacy, unfreezing foreign engagement including investment projects.

Friday’s ceremony was attended by representatives from the neighboring nations of China, India and Thailand.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul this week sent a congratulatory message, according to Myanmar state media, saying that under Min Aung Hlaing’s “able leadership” the nations’ relations would “grow from strength to strength.”

However China was the election’s biggest backer, analysts say, and discussions over stalled Beijing-backed infrastructure projects are now being revived.

Myanmar’s military has ruled the country for most of its post-independence history.

A rare decade-long interlude starting in 2011 saw the top brass loosen their grip and Suu Kyi’s civilian government tentatively take the reins in a burst of optimism and reform.

Analysts say the military snatched back power in 2021 out of anxiety about their waning influence after her landslide victory over pro-military parties in 2020 elections.

The junta-organized re-run of the vote excluded parties that won more than 90 percent of seats in 2020, according to the Asian Network for Free Elections.

Voting did not take place in swathes of the country which have been seized by rebels battling the military and rejecting the vote, further undermining Min Aung Hlaing’s mandate according to rights monitors.