Bipartisan lawmakers urge Trump to reject upcoming Myanmar elections

Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Bipartisan lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump to reject upcoming elections in Myanmar, saying the China-backed junta is using them to create the appearance of legitimacy.

The House and Senate leaders of the Committee on Foreign Affairs called on Trump on Wednesday to speak out against the upcoming Dec. 28 election in Myanmar, organized by the military junta with support from China.

"Orchestrated by the military junta to deceive the international community, these elections are designed to manufacture legitimacy for the China-backed junta after its 2021 coup and ongoing campaign of violence against the Burmese people," the lawmakers said in the press release.

"In keeping with America's commitment to democracy and internationally recognized human rights, we urge the Trump administration -- and all of America's democratic allies -- to speak out against these flawed elections and any electoral results that would deny the right of the Burmese people to freely and fairly choose their own government."

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The civilian government of Myanmar was overthrown in a military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, and has since been ravaged by civil war.

At least 7,498 people have been killed by the junta since the coup, and more than 30,000 have been arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Myanmar.

United Nations statistics state that more than 275,000 Myanmar nationals have sought refuge or asylum in neighboring countries.

It was unclear what the effect of the statement will have on the Trump administration. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security referenced the upcoming election as proof that conditions in the Asian nation had improved to the point that Myanmar nationals in the United States no longer required protections from being deported to their native country.

"Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful cease-fire agreements and improved local government contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said.

The assertions by the Trump administration have been rejected by Myanmar advocacy groups, including the International Campaign for the Rohingya and Campaign for a New Myanmar, which have told UPI that her statements are "false and misleading."

According to the U.S. lawmakers, the Myanmarese face death, imprisonment and torture by resisting the junta's authoritarian rule, and its dissolving of several political parties in 2023, imprisonment persecution and exile of many former elected officials "makes clear that any forthcoming vote risks being neither free nor fair."

"Under these conditions, the United States must categorically reject this electoral farce," said Reps. Brian Mast, R-Mich., and Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, respectively; and Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, respectively.