Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing becomes Myanmar’s acting president

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has declared himself acting president following reports by state-controlled media that the nominal position’s incumbent is undergoing medical treatment for health problems.

Responsibility for national defense and security matters was transferred from acting President Myint Swe to Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, according to an announcement broadcast on state-run MRTV television Monday night.

Min Aung Hlaing is chairman of the State Administration Council, the formal name of the military junta that has ruled the country since a 2021 coup d’état.

The announcement comes more than a week before the junta’s 11-member National Defense and Security Council must decide whether to renew the country’s state of emergency for another six months when the current one expires on July 31. The acting president must approve renewals.

The junta has extended emergency rule several times since seizing power from the democratically elected government of de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, who were arrested and subsequently jailed on what rights groups said were politically motivated charges.

Myint Swe held the post of first vice president before the 2021 coup and advanced to the presidency after Suu Kyi and Win Myint were arrested. 

As acting president, he was essentially a figurehead. But he did sign decrees issued by the junta government, which allowed the military a semblance of legitimacy.

Lately, he has been suffering from neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy disease that affect his daily activities, according to state media.

‘Behaving like a monarch’

Nay Phone Latt, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office under the shadow National Unity Government, said it was unsurprising that Min Aung Hlaing would grant himself another position. 

“In essence, Min Aung Hlaing is blatantly revealing to the public that he has no fear of wrongdoing and lacks any sense of moral conscience,” he said.

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Kyaw Zaw, spokesman for the NUG President’s Office, said Min Aung Hlaing’s actions show a disregard for the country and a lack of concern for the people. 

“It is evident that he is behaving like a monarch, treating the country as if it were his family’s sole business enterprise,” he said.

Some political analysts said the National Defense and Security Council, or NDSC, would extend emergency rule for the sixth time, continuing to give the military broad extraconstitutional powers amid ongoing armed conflict by resistance forces battling the army in many parts of Myanmar. 

But a lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons, said the move was unlikely because of the absence of Myint Swe and Vice President Henry Van Thio, who was allowed to retire in April due to health reasons, from the next NDSC meeting. Both were council members.

If they can’t participate, then the meeting wouldn’t achieve a quorum, rendering it illegitimate and preventing a legal extension of emergency rule, he said.

RFA could not reach junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on Monday.

Translated by Thane Aung and Aung Naing for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.