During the Mon State Day ceremony, military council leader Min Aung Hlaing stated that building a democratic nation requires intellectual maturity and that it is time to learn from the destruction of people’s lives and properties. In his remarks, he emphasized that national unity, discipline, respect for law, and intellectual capacity are essential requirements for building a democratic nation. He claimed that the current situation in the country has made it difficult to achieve stability and development as they have to focus on defending against what he termed as destructive forces rather than engaging in nation-building activities.
Min Aung Hlaing called on ethnic armed organizations and related groups to cease activities that he claimed were causing suffering to the people and endangering the nation. He also mentioned that the military council would continue working towards holding multi-party democratic elections and transferring state responsibilities to the resulting government. However, these statements stand in stark contrast to the reality on the ground, where military forces are actively engaged in various forms of violence against civilians.
According to documentation by domestic and international human rights organizations, including the United Nations, the military council’s forces are committing numerous crimes, including forced military conscription of young people aged 18-35, aerial bombardment of monasteries and refugee camps where displaced civilians seek shelter, artillery attacks on civilian areas, and illegal arrests and killings of displaced persons. These actions directly contradict Min Aung Hlaing’s public statements about democracy and civilian welfare, as verified by various international organizations and civil society groups who have extensively documented these human rights violations and atrocities committed by the military forces across the country.
