verdicts
Suu Kyi verdicts a 'travesty of justice'
The verdicts against Aung San Suu Kyi Monday are a travesty of justice by a judicial system that is proving to be a mere pawn of the Myanmar military, said Charles Santiago, chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a Malaysian member of parliament.
These are further evidence that the junta is determined to eliminate the political opposition after its resounding victory in the 2020 elections, he added.
Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in the election, but the military claimed there was widespread electoral fraud, an assertion that independent poll watchers doubt.
A court in Myanmar sentenced her to four more years in prison today after "finding her guilty of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies and violating coronavirus restrictions."
She was convicted last month on two other charges and given a four-year prison sentence, which was then halved by the head of the military-installed government.
The cases are among about a dozen brought against the 76-year-old since the army seized power last February, ousting her elected government and arresting top members of the National League for Democracy party.
Suu Kyi could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison if she is found guilty of all the charges.
"The international community must take immediate and proactive measures to protect the people and support the pro-democracy movement by establishing a coordinated global arms embargo, and recognising the National Unity Government formed by elected representatives of the people," Charles said.
The military-installed government has not allowed any outside party to meet with Suu Kyi since it seized power, despite international pressure for talks including her that could ease the country's violent political crisis.
Also, it would not allow a special envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, to meet her. The refusal received a rare rebuke from fellow members, who barred Min Aung from attending its annual summit meeting.
Even Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who took over as the regional group's chair for this year and advocates engagement with the ruling generals, failed to meet Suu Kyi last week when he became the first head of government to visit Myanmar since the army's takeover.
"The timing of the [announcement of the verdicts] underlines the contempt with which [the head of the military-installed government] – Senior General Min Aung Hlaing's military council regards ASEAN initiatives to help end the crisis in Myanmar."
The sentencing of Suu Kyi was delayed several times before being handed down just two days after Hun visited Myanmar.
READ: Myanmar’s Suu Kyi sentenced to 4 more years in prison
As soon as he left the country, the military continued its clearance operations in Karenni State, shelling villages, burning homes to the ground, and preventing people from fleeing for safety.
"The sentencing of Suu Kyi and the military atrocities have shown that despite Hun's stated goals for his visit, his engagement with the junta has only emboldened continued military repression of the Myanmar people," Charles said.
"ASEAN and its chair must respond, or risk losing leverage to affect positive change in Myanmar for the coming year."
2 years ago