Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military leader, made a rare appearance at the 78th Martyrs’ Day ceremony in Yangon on Saturday, laying wreaths at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum to honor General Aung San, the independence hero and father of imprisoned former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This marked his first attendance since the 2021 coup that ousted Suu Kyi, drawing sharp criticism amid ongoing conflict and upcoming elections.

The event, held near the Shwedagon Pagoda, commemorates the 1947 assassination of Aung San and eight colleagues, months before Myanmar’s independence from British rule. Min Aung Hlaing, joined by military council members and generals, placed flowers at the tombs, while Ye Aung Than, Suu Kyi’s nephew, represented her family. Suu Kyi, 80, serving a 27-year sentence on charges widely deemed politically motivated, was absent for the fifth consecutive year.

Martyrs’ Day, once a cornerstone of Myanmar’s calendar, has been downgraded by the junta since 2021. Min Aung Hlaing’s presence, as the military prepares for controversial elections by December 2025, was seen as an attempt to co-opt Aung San’s legacy for legitimacy. Critics, including pro-democracy activists, condemned the move, with X posts calling it “a disgraceful act” given Suu Kyi’s detention and the junta’s violent crackdown, which has killed 6,974 and arrested 29,405 since the coup, per the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

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At 10:37 a.m., marking the exact time of the 1947 attack, Yangon residents blared car horns and sirens in tribute, while democracy supporters held rallies in opposition-controlled areas. The junta, controlling less than half the country, faces mounting resistance from ethnic armed groups and pro-democracy forces, intensified by recent battlefield losses like the fall of Lashio.

The military’s election plans, criticized as a bid to entrench power, face skepticism due to suppressed media and the dissolution of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Min Aung Hlaing, accused of crimes against humanity over the 2017 Rohingya crackdown, also faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant request, further isolating his regime.

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