Japan, US, UK, Australia denounce dissolution of Myanmar's NLD
Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have expressed concern over the Myanmar Junta’s dissolution of the country's former ruling party, warning the move could bring further instability to the violence-wracked country.
The statements of concern on Wednesday came a day after the Myanmar military disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and 39 other parties over their failure to meet a deadline to register for an election that is set to extend the army's grip on power.
The National League for Democracy has repeatedly ruled out running in the poll, calling it illegitimate.
'We are seriously concerned that the exclusion of the NLD from the political process will make it even more difficult to improve the situation,' Japan's foreign ministry said in a statement.
'Japan strongly urges Myanmar to immediately release NLD officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to show a path toward a peaceful resolution of the issue in a manner that includes all parties concerned.'
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military coup that deposed Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February 2021, upending a decade of tentative democracy.
Myanmar's security forces have killed more than 3,000 people in a bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters, giving rise to an armed struggle against military rule. More than a million people have been displaced by fighting, according to the United Nations.
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