Detained Myanmar president, state counsellor sentenced to 4 years prison

Yangon [Myanmar], December 6 (ANI): Detained Myanmar President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi were sentenced to four years in prison on Monday, media reported citing Major General Zaw Min Tun, head of the information team under the State Administration Council.

According to Xinhua news agency, U Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi were convicted of charges with incitement under Section 505 (b) Penal Code and with breaching Natural Disaster Management Law.

After they were detained on February 1 along with other officials from the National League for Democracy (NLD), the state power of Myanmar was transferred to Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing after the declaration of a state of emergency.

Xinhua reported that since her detainment, Aung San Suu Kyi had been accused of 11 offences, such as violating the Official Secrets Act, among others, while U Win Myint was under two charges of incitement and breaching Natural Disaster Management Law.

Trials over more charges against Aung San Suu Kyi were to follow. The military has alleged massive voting fraud in the country’s November 2020 general elections, which saw the NLD win a majority of seats in both houses of parliament, Xinhua reported.

The NLD party won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in the general elections on November 8, 2015 and had been running the government since 2016. The five-year term of the NLD government was expected to end in March 2021. (ANI)

Five killed, dozens injured after military truck rams into peaceful protest

Naypyidaw, [Myanmar], December 7 (ANI): At least five people lost their lives in Myanmar while dozens reported injuries after a military truck on Sunday rammed into a crowd of peaceful protestors.

After the truck moulded the protestors, soldiers of the military junta emerged from the vehicle to attack others in the crowd, Radio Free Asia reported citing eyewitnesses and media reports.

The attack took place in Myanmar‘s former capital Yangon and scattered protesters and left bodies lying in the road, local news outlet Myanmar Now reported following the assault.

People were holding protests against the military coup that ousted the democratically elected government in Myanmar.

Eleven protesters, including some of those injured in the attack, were also arrested, Radio Free Asia reported citing state television.

Meanwhile, the anti-coup alliance also known as the National Unity Government (NUG) has condemned the violence, promising a “strong response” to the country’s military, which had “brutally, inhumanly killed the unarmed peaceful protesters.”

As reported by Radio Free Asia, the US Embassy in Myanmar also denounced the military‘s attack on unarmed civilians saying it was ‘horrified’ by reports of the violence.

As reported by the Radio Free Asia, nearly 1,300 civilians have been killed since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in February while more than 7,000 people have been detained.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also been internally displaced in the country of 54 million people, amid food shortages and the coronavirus pandemic, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said. (ANI)

International rights community calls deposed leader Aung San’s sentence as ‘unbridled destruction of freedom’

Naypyidaw, [Myanmar], December 6 (ANI): An international rights community on Monday slammed the Myanmar court’s decision to sentence democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years of imprisonment.

The sentence came nearly 10 months after the Myanmar military ousted the democratically elected government in the country.

“The harsh sentences handed down to Aung San Suu Kyi on these bogus charges are the latest example of the military`s determination to eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

“The court`s farcical and corrupt decision is part of a devastating pattern of arbitrary punishment that has seen more than 1,300 people killed and thousands arrested since the military coup in February,” he added. Ming Yu Hah also said that that the situation in Myanmar is alarming in the extreme.

“Violence escalation and humanitarian crisis with tens of thousands displaced people amid the ongoing pandemic would only get worse without a decisive international response,” Ming Yu was quoted as saying by Sputnik.

Suu Kyi, 76, faces almost a dozen charges including incitement, violation of Covid-19 protocols and violation of the Official Secrets Act, which add up to combined maximum sentence of more than 100 years. She has rejected all allegations, according to the CNN.

Aung San Suu Kyi was detained as Myanmar’s military took control of the country on February 1 this year. (ANI)

US, UN denounce military attack on peaceful protest

Naypyidaw, [Myanmar], December 7 (ANI): The US Embassy in Myanmar and the United Nations on Monday denounced the military’s attack on peaceful protesters in the former capital Yangon.

A military truck rammed into a crowd of peaceful protestors, killing at least five civilians while causing injuries to dozen others, and soldiers emerged from the vehicle to attack others in the crowd, Radio Free Asia reported.

The people were holding a protest against the military coup that ousted the democratically elected government in Myanmar. Eleven protesters, including some of those injured in the attack, were also arrested, Radio Free Asia reported citing state television.

“We support the right of the people of Burma to protest peacefully,” the embassy said adding that “The Myanmar military’s widespread use of brutal violence underscores the urgency of restoring Burma’s path to inclusive democracy.”

“We stand with the people of Burma in their aspirations for freedom and democracy and call on the military regime to end the use of violence, release those unjustly detained, and respect the will of the people,” the embassy added.
As reported by Radio Free Asia, the United Nations also demanded Myanmar‘s military rulers take action against those involved in the attack.

Nearly 1,300 civilians have been killed since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in February while more than 7,000 people have been detained.

Hundreds of thousands of people have also been internally displaced in the country of 54 million people, amid food shortages and the coronavirus pandemic, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said. (ANI)