Suu Kyi faces second charge as army ‘guarantees’ fresh polls
Asked about the detention of Suu Kyi and the president, a military official dismisses the suggestion they are in detention, saying they are in their homes for their security while the law takes its course
Police in Myanmar filed a new charge against ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said on Tuesday, in a move that may allow her to be held indefinitely without trial as part of an intensifying crackdown by authorities who seized power in a coup.
Suu Kyi, who was deposed and detained in the military takeover on Feb.1, already faced a charge of illegally possessing walkie-talkies — an apparent atempt to provide a legal veneer for her house arrest.
The new charge was for breaking a law that has been used to prosecute people who have violated coronavirus restrictions, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters ater meeting with a judge in a court in the capital, Naypyitaw.
It carries a maximum punishment of three years in prison. But, perhaps more worryingly, because of changes to the Penal Code instituted by the junta last week, it could allow her to be detained indefinitely without court permission.
The legal manoeuvre comes two weeks ater the military seized power in a coup that shocked many in the international community who had been hopeful that Myanmar was taking steps towards democracy.
Since then, the junta has ratcheted up the pressure on protesters resisting the takeover, including violently breaking up some demonstrations and ordering internet access blocked.
Myanmar’s military junta guaranteed on Tuesday that it would hold an election and hand over power, denied its ouster of an elected government was a coup or that its leaders were detained, and accused protesters of violence and intimidation.
“Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party,” Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the junta’s first news conference since overthrowing Suu Kyi’s government.
The military has not given a date for a new election but has imposed a state of emergency for one year. Zaw Min Tun said the military would not hold power for long.
“We guarantee ... that the election will be held,” he told the nearly two-hour news conference, which the military broadcast from Naypyitaw live over Facebook, a plaform it has banned.
Asked about the detention of Suu Kyi and the president, Zaw Min Tun dismissed the suggestion they were in detention, saying they were in their homes for their security while the law took its course.
On Monday, security forces pointed guns at a group of 1,000 demonstrators and atacked them with slingshots and sticks in the city of Mandalay. Local media reported that police also fired rubber bullets into a crowd and that a few people were injured.
Protests continued on Tuesday in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and elsewhere. In Yangon, police blocked off the street in front of the Central Bank, which protesters have targeted amid speculation online that the military is seeking to seize money from it. Buddhist monks demonstrated outside the UN’S local office in the city.
Around 3,000 demonstrators — mainly students — returned to the streets of Mandalay, carrying posters of Suu Kyi and shouting for the return of democracy.
The protests are taking place in defiance of an order banning gatherings of five or more people. But the security presence was low-key around the march ater Monday’s confrontations.
Suu Kyi’s lawyer told reporters he did not arrive at the court in time to see a videoconference the judge said had been held with her. That videoconference had not been expected, the lawyer said, adding that he has not yet seen his client.
State media have been acknowledging the protest movement only indirectly. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported about a meeting of the State Administration Council, the new top governing body, and quoted its chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, saying the authorities “are handling the ongoing problems with care.”
It said the council discussed taking legal action against protesters and providing “true information” to the media. On Sunday and Monday nights, the military ordered an internet blackout — almost entirely blocking online access.