(REUTERS): Myanmar’s military junta has guaranteed to hold an election and hand over power, denied its ouster of an elected government was a coup, and accused protesters of violence and intimidation.
“Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,” Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the first news conference since overthrowing Suu Kyi’s government.
However, the military has not given a date for a new election but has imposed a state of emergency for one year. The spokesperson informed that the military would not hold power for long.
“We guarantee that the election will be held,” he told the nearly two-hour news conference. When asked about the detention of president, he dismissed the suggestion they were in detention, saying they were in their homes for their security while the law took its course.
He further said that Myanmar’s foreign policy would not change, it remained open for business and deals would be upheld. The military is hoping that its reassurances will dampen the campaign of daily opposition to its rule.
Commenting on the protest, he said that the protesters were starting violence while the campaign of civil disobedience amounted to the illegal intimidation of civil servants. “We will wait patiently. After that, we will take action according to the law,” Zaw Min Tun warned.
As well as the demonstrations in towns and cities across the ethnically diverse country, a civil disobedience movement has brought strikes that are crippling many functions of government.
