Myanmar’s Suu Kyi faces more charges
Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi appeared at a court hearing via video link on Monday as supporters marched in defiance of a crackdown after the bloodiest day since the Feb. 1 military coup.
Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters in the main city of Yangon, witnesses said. They later combed through side streets firing rubber bullets and at least one person was hurt, media reported.
In an evening address on state television, army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said protest leaders and “instigators” would be punished. The army was also investigating financial abuse by the civilian government, he said.
Suu Kyi, 75, looked in good health during her appearance, one of her lawyers said. Two more charges were added, she said.
“I saw Amay on the video, she looks healthy,” lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters, using an affectionate term meaning “mother” to refer to Suu Kyi. “She asked to meet her lawyer.”
The Nobel Peace laureate, who leads the National League for Democracy, has not been seen in public since her government was toppled and she was detained along with other party leaders.
She was initially charged with illegally importing six walkie-talkie radios. Later, a charge of violating a natural disaster law by breaching COVID protocols was added.
On Monday, two more charges were added, one under a section of a colonial-era penal code banning publication of information that may “cause fear or alarm,” the other under a telecommunications law stipulating licences for equipment, the lawyer said.
The next hearing will be on March 15. Critics of the coup say the charges were trumped up.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power after alleging fraud in a November election that the Suu Kyi’s party, NLD, won in a landslide, with daily protests getting increasingly violent as police and troops try to stamp them out.
In his speech, read out on state-run MRTV, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said action would be taken against civil servants refusing to work for the junta.
He said the military was investigating what he called corruption by the civilian government, accusing the authorities of misusing money meant for COVID-19 prevention. The junta has promised a new election but not set a date.
On Monday, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, or parliament, declared the junta a terrorist group and condemned the violence against protesters as a “declaration of war on unarmed civilians.”
On Sunday, police fired on crowds in several places, killing 18 people, the UN human rights office said.