Who Should Speak For Myanmar? Not Min Aung Hlaing

Min Aung Hlaing also declared the coup constitutional. However, the International Commission of Jurists documented at least four violations of Article 417: the president was arrested before any emergency declaration; electoral fraud does not constitute the armed seizure of sovereignty the provision contemplates; the civilian members of the National Defense and Security Council were detained; and parliament was physically prevented from convening.

He went on to proclaim the 2026 election“free, fair, and dignified.” Yet the National League for Democracy (NLD) - which won 82% of contested seats in 2020 - has been dissolved by force and did not contest. Parties holding more than 90% of 2020 seats were excluded.

The Election Protection Law criminalized criticism of the 2026 election, held in phases in December 2025 and January 2026, with penalties including death. A joint ANFREL/SAC-M report found voting occurred in only 265 of 330 townships - just 42% of Myanmar's territory.

The EU called the elections“not free, fair, inclusive, or credible.” Even the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), notorious for its“non-interference” in its members' internal affairs, did not recognize the polls.

Min Aung Hlaing pledged economic development. Yet, since his coup, gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen 13% below pre-pandemic levels. The kyat, the local currency, has collapsed 240%. Poverty has doubled to nearly 50%. Myanmar, meanwhile, has been blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force for failing to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

What the general's speech did not mention was 22,818 political prisoners, 6,764 civilians killed, 1,022 airstrikes on civilian targets, 3.58 million people displaced and 630,000 Rohingya classified as Stage 9: Extermination by Genocide Watch. Nor did he mention the ICC warrant hanging over his head.

This is the man who, the next morning, appointed himself chairman of a peace committee.

The NSPCC is not an anomaly. It is the culmination of a pattern visible across everybody Min Aung Hlaing has assembled since taking the oath. Of his cabinet, 13 of 30 Union Ministers, or 43%, are individually sanctioned. Four more face bloc-level restrictions, bringing total sanctions exposure to 57%.

His Union Consultative Council, announced on inauguration day, has six of 11 members individually sanctioned, or 55%. Officials ostensibly removed from the cabinet were simply repositioned. Nine of 15 NSPCC members, or 60% of the body, are individually sanctioned.

Each successive body concentrates more sanctioned figures than the last. The regime's peace committee has the highest sanctions saturation of any institution Min Aung Hlaing has created.

Its vice-chairman is sanctioned by the EU and Canada. Its members include the new commander-in-chief, General Ye Win Oo, is sanctioned by five governments, and two ministers sanctioned by six governments each.

The NSPCC's operational absurdity speaks for itself. Nine of its 15 members cannot travel to the EU, UK, Canada, Australia or Switzerland without risking asset freezes. The chairman cannot transit through countries with ICC cooperation agreements.

The committee cannot credibly interface with any Western-aligned mediator, any international peace mechanism or any donor government that enforces its own sanctions. The Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement it is presumably meant to revive has been called a“scrap of paper” by six of its own signatories. The Transnational Institute assessed it“to most intents and purposes, defunct.”

The junta has spent millions to convince Washington otherwise. US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings show the DCI Group holds a US$3 million annual contract with Myanmar's Ministry of Information.

A propaganda website - MyanmarDemocracyNow - appeared within hours of the April 3 election, describing it as a“peaceful transition of power.” Its footer carries the mandatory FARA disclosure.