The military council leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing issued an order on September 11 granting amnesty to Dr. Aye Maung, Chairman of the Arakan Front Party (AFP). The amnesty was granted after Dr. Aye Maung pledged to uphold the three main national causes: non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity, and perpetuation of sovereignty.
According to the military council’s announcement, the interim president exercised authority under Article 204(b) of the Constitution to grant amnesty for the crimes and sentences imposed on Dr. Aye Maung by the Sittwe District Court in Criminal Case No. 9/2018 under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and Criminal Case No. 3/2018 under Section 122(1) of the Penal Code. The amnesty was granted with the endorsement of the National Defense and Security Council after Dr. Aye Maung committed to participating in building a Union based on genuine democracy and federalism.
With this amnesty, Dr. Aye Maung will be eligible to contest in the upcoming 2025 election. The case against him originated from his speech at a literary talk commemorating the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom’s sovereignty, held at Cetiyangana Monastery’s Dhamma Hall in Rathedaung Township’s Taungyin Ward on January 15, 2018. He was subsequently charged with high treason, sedition, and unlawful association.
On March 19, 2019, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment under Section 122 for high treason and Section 505(b) for sedition. Following the military takeover in 2021, Min Aung Hlaing granted him clemency and released him. The current amnesty comes with Dr. Aye Maung’s pledge to adhere to the military council’s national causes and his commitment to participate in building what the military describes as a disciplined democratic federal system.
