Myanmar’s Suu Kyi charged as calls to oppose coup grow
Former leader could be jailed for up to 3 years for possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies; China blocks UNSC move
YANGON: Myanmar authorities filed criminal charges against former leader Aung San Suu Kyi for possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies. She faces up to three years in jail if convicted.
Suu Kyi was charged for breaching an import-export law. The police incident report indicated that unauthorised telecommunications equipment was found at her home in Naypyitaw, the capital.
Former President Win Myint was separately charged for breaching the natural disaster management law over an election campaign rally that police say violated Covid-19 restrictions and faces the same penalty.
Suu Kyi has called on supporters to resist Myanmar’s generals, who seized power on Monday after claiming without evidence that her landslide victory in November’s election was tainted with fraud. The military has pledged to hold elections after a yearlong state of emergency.
Lawmakers from her National League for Democracy party released a statement on Wednesday demanding the immediate release of Suu Kyi and the former president, recognition of the 2020 election results and the removal of all barriers to holding a new parliamentary session.
Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing said on Wednesday the nation will continue diplomatic ties with all countries, with its non-aligned foreign policy remaining unchanged, the military-run Myawady TV announced. The army also appointed four new ministers, for a total of 18 positions so far.
Medics first to protest
Myanmar has started to see some protests emerge, with doctors vowing to shut hospitals across the country. A “Civil Disobedience Movement” started by pro-democracy activists including medical professionals announced on Wednesday that more than 70 hospitals and medical departments would stop work in protest of what it called an “illegitimate” government.
The army has “ruthlessly” staged a coup and is “putting their own interests above our vulnerable population who have been facing medical, economic, and social hardships during this global pandemic”, reads a statement posted to the Civil Disobedience Movement’s Facebook page, which has gained more than 160,000 followers since it was started on Tuesday.
Another campaign initiated by lawmakers saw residents in Myanmar’s commercial capital, Yangon, bang pots and honk car horns on Tuesday evening to show their opposition to the coup. Thousands of Burmese demonstrators gathered outside Japan’s foreign affairs ministry demanding Tokyo join its allies in taking a harder stance against the coup in Myanmar.
UNSC action stalls
China on Wednesday said it was opposed to any strong resolution by the UN Security Council condemning the coup and insisted that any action by the international community shouldn’t escalate tensions.
China, along with Russia, reportedly blocked efforts by the UNSC at its consultative meeting on Tuesday to issue a strong statement condemning the coup.
The Group of Seven countries on Wednesday condemned the coup and said it was deeply concerned about the fate of detained political leaders.
“We call upon the military to immediately end the state of emergency, restore power to the democratically-elected government, to release all those unjustly detained and to respect human rights and the rule of law,” the G7 said.