Myanmar extends state of emergency for 6 more months

No one from any organization on our revolutionary forces side will accept the illegal election that the military is planning to hold. We may have differences of opinion on other issues, but the position among the revolutionary forces regarding this election issue is unified and clear. We do not accept this at all,

Moe Zaw Oo said in an online news conference

Junta forces have slaughtered thousands of civilians, bombed and burned villages, and displaced millions of people. More than 20,000 political prisoners remain behind bars. The economy and public services have collapsed. Famine and starvation loom over large parts of the population,

he said

There are still more tasks to be done to hold the general election successfully. Especially for a free and fair election, stability and peace is still needed,

state-run MRTV said on its Telegram channel in announcing the extension of emergency rule

All members of National Defence and Security Council including the commander in chief as well as acting president decided in unison for the extension of the state of emergency for another six months according to the section 425 of the 2008 constitution,

the statement said

The National Defence and Security Council meeting is scheduled for July 31, or there could be an ad hoc meeting called before then, to potentially declare an end to the state of emergency,

Horsey told Al Jazeera

A return to the 2008 constitution is seen as hopefully leading to a little bit more predictability and less random decisions [by Ming Aung Hlaing],

he said