JUNTA PROBES KEY AUSTRALIAN AIDE OF SUU KYI
Aussie economist faces questioning for offences under immigration, secrets laws
ADETAINED Australian adviser to Myanmar’s deposed civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is being investigated for violating the country’s official secrets laws and immigration offences, a junta official said yesterday.
Sean Turnell, an economist and university professor, was the first foreign national arrested following the Feb 1 coup that ousted the Nobel laureate from power.
At a press conference in the capital Naypyidaw, junta spokesman Brigadier-General
Zaw Min Tun confirmed that Turnell was being investigated for offences under Myanmar’s immigration and state secret laws.
“We have allowed contact with (Australian) embassy officers and the family twice. We are going to allow his family to contact him.”
His distraught spouse, Ha Vu, last month wrote an open letter to the wife of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, pleading for her husband’s release. The Australian government is providing consular assistance to two business consultants, Matthew O’Kane and Christa Avery, who is a dual Canadian-Australian citizen.
They were prevented from leaving the country on a relief flight on Friday and have since been under house arrest.
The Australian embassy yesterday warned its citizens to prepare to “shelter in place” with essential supplies.
Myanmar’s military yesterday said it was sad about people killed in its brutal crackdown on anti-coup protests, but vowed to press ahead with stamping out what it called “anarchy”. Zaw Min Tun put the death toll at 164.
“I am sad because these violent terrorists who died are our nationals,” he said.
The streets of towns and cities across the country have seen chaotic scenes for weeks as security forces clashed with protesters demanding the
restoration of democracy and the release of Suu Kyi.
The authorities have used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to disperse protests.
Zaw Min Tun defended the response, saying the security forces were dealing with “insurgents holding weapons” and five policemen and four soldiers had been killed. International pressure is building on the regime, with the European Union on Monday imposing sanctions on junta chief General Min Aung Hlaing and 10 other senior officials.
The bloc said that as commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing was “directly responsible” for “serious human rights violations” carried out during the crackdown.