The Burmese military junta is claiming victory in the nation’s first elections in 20 years. Pro-democracy groups tied to the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the polls. International election monitors and journalists were barred from observing the vote. In the Thai border town of Mae Sot, Burmese migrant workers tore up their voting documents in protest.

Kyaw Kyaw, Burmese migrant worker: “Everyone sees this election as a fraud. The military has swapped their uniforms for politician clothes and changed the name of their unit to the name of political parties, but they are still holding the power. When people select them, they will be the same. So, it is useless to vote in this election.”

Speaking in Australia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the election process in Burma.

Hillary Clinton: “We look at Burma today holding flawed elections that once again expose the abuses of the military junta, and it’s heartbreaking, because the people of Burma deserve so much better. And Australia and the United States will continue to work together to establish an international commission of inquiry to hold those leaders in Burma accountable for human rights violations, continuing persecution of ethnic minorities.”