Myanmar military chief named interim president

Myanmar’s acting President Myint Swe has taken medical leave and handed over his duties to military chief Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s military said.

The announcement of the new appointment, broadcast on state television MRTV, said Min Aung Hlaing received an official letter from the acting president’s office on Monday.

The letter authorized him to serve as acting chairman to handle, as necessary, matters related to the National Defense and Security Council while Myint Swe is on medical leave.

“The functions of interim president have been transferred… to the president of the State Administration Council,” the military government said, using the name by which it refers to itself.

The announcement came about a week before procedures needed to renew the state of emergency originally declared by the military after it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Myint Swe, 73, was suffering from “psychomotor retardation and malnutrition,” state media reported last week. It said he had been receiving medical treatment since earlier this year and was still unable to carry out normal daily activities, including eating.

Myint Swe was the vice president under Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government and was later named interim president by the military government. Although he is only a figurehead president, the government has depended on him to sign its decrees and provide a veneer of legitimacy to its government, which is struggling to contain a spreading civil war and manage a crumbling economy.

The National Defense and Security Council, which is formally headed by the president, is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice it is controlled by the military.

He plays a key role in renewing the state of emergency every six months, giving the military sweeping extra-constitutional powers. Legally, the president, or in Myint Swe’s case the acting president, is the one who must endorse renewals.

The military claims the state of emergency is necessary to deal with instability caused by armed opponents of the military regime, who are fighting the army in most of the country.

Myint Swe became interim president under controversial circumstances following the 2021 military coup, when President Win Myint was arrested along with Suu Kyi.

Myint Swe, a member of a pro-military party, took over as president because he held the post of first vice president. The move, whose legitimacy has been questioned by legal experts, allowed the council to be called to declare a state of emergency and hand power to Min Aung Hlaing, who led the army takeover.

Min Aung Hlaing currently chairs the ruling military council and the military-installed government. He declared himself prime minister six months after taking power.

The government has said it will hold new elections in 2025. But critics say the proposed elections will not be free or fair.

Via News Agencies