The decision was made four years after the junta overthrew the previous democrat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi's government and introduced martial law.
The military coup marked the end of the Southeast Asian country's period of democracy. Since then, the situation has been turbulent with crackdowns on dissenters and clashes between the military and armed resistance groups. Thousands have been killed and tens of thousands have been arrested.
The 79-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, who was previously under house arrest for many years under a junta, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison by the ruling military junta. She has been praised worldwide for her democratic struggle but also criticized for not stopping the persecution of the Muslim minority group Rohingya in Myanmar under her leadership in 2017.
