Naypyidaw, MINA – Myanmar’s coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been sworn in as the country’s new president, five years after he ousted an elected government and triggered a civil war, according to Al Jazeera.
In his inauguration address in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday, he said that “Myanmar has returned to the path of democracy and is heading towards a better future,” while acknowledging the country still has many “challenges to overcome.”
Min Aung Hlaing was voted to the top office last week in a landslide victory by the pro-military parliament, formalizing his grip on power. He was among three candidates nominated for the post; the two runners-up became vice presidents.
The 69-year-old general seized power in 2021 from Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, placing her under arrest and causing violence, protests, and demonstrations that sent Myanmar spiraling into chaos.
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The coup prompted a mass civil disobedience movement and the formation of anti-coup armed groups, to which the military responded with brutal force. Myanmar was subsequently suspended from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In his address on Friday, Min Aung Hlaing said they “will enhance international relations and strive to restore normal relations” with ASEAN.
Friday’s inauguration ceremony was attended by representatives from the neighboring nations of China, India, and Thailand as well as 20 other countries, according to the AFP news agency.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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