Junta cements power in Myanmar
Myanmar’s military elevated Min Aung Hlaing to the presidency in a process described by critics as a controlled, scripted reset that sidelines opposition parties. (freepressjournal.in) Observers report that everyday cultural acts, even flowers and garlands, have become politicized and provoke fear under the tightened regime. (nytimes.com) A magnitude‑4.0 earthquake struck the country on Sunday, a small but notable additional strain on a fragile and repressive environment. (aninews.in)
Myanmar’s military has formalized Min Aung Hlaing’s rule by moving him from junta chief to president, five years after the February 1, 2021 coup. (aljazeera.com) He won 429 of 584 votes in a parliamentary ballot on April 3, 2026, then took the oath in Naypyidaw on April 10. The vote came from a pro-military parliament after December and January elections that critics and Western governments said were designed to preserve army control. (aljazeera.com 1) (aljazeera.com 2) The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party won more than 80 percent of contested seats, while serving officers still held 25 percent of seats without election under the constitutional system the army wrote for itself. Voting did not take place in large parts of the country held by armed opponents of the junta. (aljazeera.com 1) (aljazeera.com 2) The change puts a civilian office on top of a military system that has been running Myanmar since the coup removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. Min Aung Hlaing said at his inauguration that Myanmar had “returned to the path of democracy,” while critics called the handover cosmetic. (aljazeera.com) (myanmar-now.org) The move comes as the war has spread far beyond the street protests of 2021. ReliefWeb said on April 13 that about 3.6 million people were internally displaced as of December 2025, and the United Nations humanitarian plan projected more than 16 million people would need aid in 2026. (reliefweb.int) Fighting has intensified in Sagaing, Magway, northern Shan, Kayah and Mandalay, according to the same ReliefWeb update. The Center for Foreign Relations said in January that rebel forces and ethnic armies had taken large areas while the military struggled to hold territory outside major population centers. (reliefweb.int) (cfr.org) That pressure has reached daily life. A New York Times report published on April 13 said garlands and flowers, ordinary symbols of honor and mourning in Myanmar, have become objects of suspicion because the military now reads them as signs of resistance. (nytimes.com) Min Aung Hlaing used his first address as president to promise better ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and “appropriate amnesties” for reconciliation. Representatives from China, India, Thailand and about 20 other countries attended the April 10 ceremony in Naypyidaw. (aljazeera.com) The strain is not only political. ReliefWeb said recovery from the March 2025 earthquake remains slow, with 24,200 houses damaged and 132 health facilities hit, and an April 13 report also pointed to a fresh magnitude 4.0 quake in Myanmar on Sunday. (reliefweb.int) (aninews.in) For now, the presidency gives the same man who led the coup a new office, not a new system. The government says it is steering Myanmar back to normal politics; its opponents say the war, the arrests and the fear around ordinary public gestures show how far away that remains. (aljazeera.com) (nytimes.com)
