May 24, 2021
09:41
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The ousted Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared in person in court on Monday on a charge of “inciting sedition”.
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This is a first since the coup d’état perpetrated by the Burmese junta in early February. Under house arrest since her government was overthrown, the leader of Burma Aung San Suu Kyi appeared in person in court on Monday.
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The gravest charge she faces is that of“incitement to sedition”. The stateswoman is also accused of having violated a state secrets law and to have violates containment measures related to the coronavirus.
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“The LND (National League for Democracy) will exist as long as the people exist, because it was founded for the people.”
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burmese leader
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According to his lawyer Thae Maung Maung, Aung San Suu Kyi (75) appeared to be in good health and spoke with his legal team for approximately 30 minutes prior to the hearing.
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Burmese military leader Min Aung Hlaing had already assured in an interview on Saturday that the septuagenarian was in good health. While the Burmese leader has responded to court questions by video link in recent weeks, her lawyers had not yet been able to meet her in person. A special courtroom has been set up for the occasion in the capital Naypyidaw, not far from Aung San Suu Kyi’s home.
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Party threatened with dissolution
Shortly before the hearing, she “wished her people would remain in good health” and “asserted that the LND (National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, editor’s note) will exist as long as the people existbecause it was founded for the people, ”according to its lawyer, Min Min Soe.
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The new electoral commission appointed by the junta announced on Friday the next dissolution of the political party, which largely won the legislative elections last November, a ballot canceled after the military coup. A commissioner threatened in the media to take action against the “traitors” involved. This dissolution proposal was denounced on Sunday by the European Union.
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Read also | Burma: global outcry in the aftermath of the bloodiest day since the coup
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Police station attacked
Demonstrations against the coup led to violent reprisals from the military across the country, which left hundreds dead. On Saturday, the junta leader claimed that the media had greatly exaggerated the death toll, valuing it at “around 300”, in addition to 47 police officers. According to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners, a Burmese NGO, at least 815 people were killed so far, while more than 5,300 have been taken into custody.
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This does not discourage opponents of the military junta. Sunday fighters hostile to the coup attacked a police station in Mobye, a town in the east of the country, claiming to have killed at least 13 members security forces and captured four, local media reports.
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A member of the People’s Defense Force, an organization fighting against the junta, told the Irrawaddy news portal that the post was set on fire and two civilians were injured in the clashes. According to other media, up to fifteen members of the security forces were reportedly you are.
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©AFP
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Confronted with new conflicts on several fronts, the military junta must also face daily protests and strikes against the coup d’état which paralyzed hospitals, schools and many private companies.
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More than 125,000 teachers, or one third of the total number of teachers in the country, have thus been hanging for participating in the civil disobedience movement, an official from the Federation of Myanmar Teachers said on Saturday.
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