14 August 2025 | 07:55 CAT
2-minute read

Myanmar’s military declares ‘end’ to emergency, but control tightens ahead of December election

In a nutshell: 

• State of emergency lifted—but martial law imposed in 63 townships, signalling continued military dominance.
• Aung San Suu Kyi remains isolated and possibly used as a “human shield”, compounding concerns over her safety and rights.
• The Rohingya face intensifying persecution, including forced recruitment and humanitarian collapse in bordering refugee camps.

On 31 July 2025, Myanmar’s military briefly lifted the nationwide state of emergency imposed in the wake of the February 2021 coup—yet rapidly reinstated control over rebel areas through martial law in 63 townships, observers say.

A restructured administration, replacing the State Administration Council with a new National Defence and Security Council and a State Security and Peace Commission, places Senior General Min Aung Hlaing firmly at the centre of power—even as he steps aside as prime minister in favour of aide Nyo Saw.

According to junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun, the state of emergency was abolished “in order for the country to hold elections on the path to a multi-party democracy” with polls scheduled within six months.

Critics, however, denounce the election as a façade, pointing to strict new rules—including prison sentences for anyone disrupting the electoral process—and unresolved conflict zones.

Debbie Stothard, Asia Pacific analyst and activist, emphasised the ruse: lifting the emergency is a “good news” front, but martial law persists in key areas.

“This is basically a political ploy by the junta to say… we are not having the state of emergency anymore so we can hold elections”, she warned—even as airstrikes and artillery attacks on civilian targets continue unabated.

Stothard added that much of what appears as a concession masks an intensification of military control. With civilians still under fire, armed with maps of conflict and survival rather than ballots, she cautioned that international observers risk being misled if they focus only on headlines rather than realities.

On 31 July, the junta also imposed martial law in 63 conflict-plagued townships across multiple states and regions, including steel-fisted control in Rakhine, Sagaing, Shan, Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mandalay, and Magway.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s situation remains dire: she is held under isolation, cut off from medical care after sustaining an arm injury during the 28 March earthquake, and reportedly used as a protective “human shield” near military leaders’ homes—a disturbing strategy her son and opposition voices have alleged. At 80 years old, concerns about her health and treatment persist amid the ongoing crackdown.

In Rakhine State, the Rohingya community faces escalating persecution. Stothard described the current situation as a “second wave of genocide,” citing forced recruitment of Rohingya detainees by both the junta and armed resistance forces and mounting insecurity among refugees in Cox’s Bazar and along the Thai-Burmese border—who have been left without food rations since 1 August.

Analysts note that while the junta seeks legitimacy via elections, it remains mired in civil war, human rights violations, and broad international skepticism. More than four years after the coup, Myanmar still resembles a battlefield rather than a functioning democratic state.

Listen to the Asia Pacific Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.