The ITUC Asia-Pacific Youth Committee strongly condemns the Myanmar military junta’s planned sham elections, asserting that these does not mean a genuine return to democracy, but an attempt to legitimise dictatorship, silence dissent, and deceive the international community.
For Myanmar’s youth, the impacts of the junta’s illegitimate rule are devastating and far-reaching. Schools and universities have been militarised or closed, with thousands of students arrested simply for daring to raise their voices. An entire generation faces a generational setback to education and opportunities for decent work.
“The junta thinks it can destroy a generation by shutting schools and stealing futures — but young people are proving them wrong. They are rising up with courage and vision, refusing to surrender their right to a democratic future,” said Dr. Zoë Port, Chairperson of the ITUC Asia-Pacific Youth Committee.
At the same time, the junta is forcing youth into military conscription; dragging them from classrooms, workplaces, and communities to fight in a war they did not choose. This coercion is designed to instil fear and break the will of a generation already living under repression. “The military will never kill the spirit of Myanmar’s youth, who are fighting back in every possible way to take their futures back,” Dr. Port said.
Supporting the stance of the ITUC-Asia Pacific Youth Committee, Shoya Yoshida, General Secretary of ITUC-Asia Pacific, said:
“The junta’s staged elections cannot be free, fair, or legitimate when youth are silenced, detained, or conscripted, and when the education, livelihoods, and freedoms of people of all ages are systematically destroyed.”
As young trade unionists across the Asia-Pacific, the ITUC-Asia Pacific Youth Committee denounces this charade in the strongest terms, and stand in solidarity with Myanmar’s youth, workers, and citizens who continue to resist dictatorship with extraordinary courage. Moreover, young trade unionists echo the calls of the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM) in rejecting this illegitimate process and its backers.
The ITUC-Asia Pacific Youth Committee calls on the international community to:
“Myanmar’s young people are not passive victims — they are leaders of the resistance. As young trade unionists, we see the junta’s sham elections for what they are, and we urge the international community not to be deceived but to stand with youth and workers risking everything to win back their future,” Dr. Port concluded.
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