20 March 2026 – The military-led State Security and Peace Commission (SSPC) transported elected representatives from its controversial December 2025 polls and military appointees by helicopter from Kalay town in Sagaing Region to Hakha town on 17 March to participate in today’s inaugural session of the Chin State Hluttaw.
The session, held at the state parliament building in Hakha under tight security, includes 15 members such as six from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), four from the Zomi National Party (ZNP), one from the New Chinland Congress Party (NCCP), and four appointees directly from the SSPC (military).
In its press release today, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) strongly condemns the seating of two Myanmar military officers implicated in serious human rights violations in the newly convened Chin State Hluttaw on 20 March 2026.
CHRO calls this a blatant attempt by the military junta to whitewash war crimes and recycle perpetrators through a sham electoral process.
The two military appointees, Colonel Saw Htun and Major Akar Kyaw Moe, occupy part of the 25 percent of seats reserved for the military under the 2008 Constitution. These positions are directly appointed by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, bypassing elections and ensuring the military’s continued legislative control.
Colonel Saw Htun, a former Tactical Operations Commander in northern Chin State, has been implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed against civilians during the 2021-2022 post-coup crackdown.
CHRO previously named him in a legal complaint filed in the Philippines under universal jurisdiction.
“The international community must not allow this façade of legality to obscure the reality of ongoing crimes,” Salai Mang Hre Lian added. “Accountability efforts underway in jurisdictions such as the Philippines and Timor-Leste show that justice is possible — and those responsible must know that time and geography will not protect them.”
Dr. Vung Suan Thang, the SSPC-appointed Chief Minister of Chin State (USDP), oversaw preparations of the Hluttaw sessoins, including accommodation and logistics for the attendees.
Elections for Chin State seats occurred only on 28 December 2025—the first phase of the junta’s multi-phase nationwide polls—in Hakha and Tedim towns, the only two of Chin State’s nine townships under sufficient military control.
Voting was canceled in the remaining seven townships due to ongoing conflict and resistance dominance. The USDP secured a majority in available seats, including six in the Chin State Hluttaw (via proportional representation and first-past-the-post systems), while ZNP and NCCP took the rest.
Critics, including resistance groups, exiled media, and international observers, have condemned the process as fraudulent, citing exclusion of major parties like the NLD, low turnout, reliance on advance ballots favoring the USDP, coercion, and lack of transparency.
This follows national parliament sessions: the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) convened on 16 March in Naypyitaw, electing USDP chairman Khin Yi as speaker, and the Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house) on 18 March. State and Regional Hluttaws were scheduled to begin 20 March as part of the junta’s effort to establish a formal government structure after the 2021 coup.
Chin State remains a hotspot in Myanmar’s civil conflict, with ethnic armed organizations and local defence groups controlling most rural and township areas outside junta strongholds such as Hakha and Tedim towns.
Resistance groups view the parallel assembly as illegitimate and part of the Myanmar military’s bid to legitimize its rule. Today’s session in Hakha unfolded amid reported clashes near the Hluttaw building earlier in the day, underscoring persistent insecurity.
Independent verification remains limited due to restricted access, communications blackouts, and heavy military presence in Hakha. The developments highlight the junta’s narrow territorial foothold in Chin State and the broader rejection of its electoral process by opposition forces and much of the international community. – Reporting by Daniel
