UK SANCTIONS MYANMAR JUNTA

Suu Kyi appears in court as she faces charges that could bar her from office

BRITAIN yesterday ramped up sanctions against the Myanmar junta over its brutal crackdown on protests, as ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in court.

More than 535 people had been killed in daily demonstrations since the military overthrew Suu Kyi on Feb 1, halting Myanmar’s decade-old experiment in democracy.

International powers had sought to pile pressure on the military by hitting its sprawling business interests, which included the country’s lucrative jade and ruby trade.

Britain, the country’s former colonial ruler, announced sanctions on the Myanmar Economic Corporation, a conglomerate controlled by the military that Washington had blacklisted.

London would also stump up £500,000 towards UN Security Council efforts to document serious human rights violations in Myanmar.

“Two months on from the start of the coup, the Myanmar military has sunk to a new low with the wanton killing of innocent people, including children,” British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said.

The measures would hit one of the military’s “key funding streams”, he added.

The sanctions came as Suu Kyi appeared by video link in court in the capital Naypyidaw, where she faced a raft of charges that could see her barred from political office.

The hearing dealt with administrative aspects of the case, including the formal appointment of eight defence lawyers.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s physical condition was good according to the (lawyer who saw her on screen). She was smart and charming as always,” lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

“She demanded a meeting between her and her lawyers — a private meeting to give her instructions to the lawyers and discuss the case without any outside interference by police or armed forces.”

The next hearing would be held on April 12.

The junta was also probing the Nobel laureate over allegations she took payments of gold and more than US$1 million in cash, but Khin Maung Zaw said these were not likely to translate into formal charges at this stage.

A group of ousted member of parliament from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, who have been working underground against the junta, announced plans for “a new civilian government” in the first week of the month.

They said Myanmar’s militarydrafted 2008 constitution was “cancelled”, and yesterday, a group of protesters burned a pile of copies in the street in Yangon.

In another blow to the junta’s business interests, two militaryowned supermarkets in Yangon were set ablaze overnight, and more international companies cut ties.

Protests — and the security forces’ tough response — continue and in Monywa in central Myanmar yesterday, a 31-year-old protester was shot dead, while 10 others were wounded, a rescue worker said.