Former Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, held in secrecy by the junta since her arrest on February 1, is appearing in court on Monday by video conference and appears “in good health”, her lawyer told AFP. The hearing has started and my client is “on video conference and appears to be in good health,” Khin Maung Zaw said.
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Burmese justice is looking into the case of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, accused by the junta of having violated obscure trade and health rules, while the country wakes up in shock in the aftermath of the crackdown. deadliest since the coup.
The United Nations has “credible information” according to which at least 18 people were killed Sunday by the security forces which opened fire to disperse pro-democracy rallies in several cities of the country.
AFP was able to confirm at this stage from an independent source at least eight dead, but some reports highlight an even heavier toll than that announced by the UN.
Despite fear of reprisals, residents of Dawei, in southern Burma, took to the streets on Monday morning to lay red flowers and light candles in front of portraits of the victims.
Three protesters died in the coastal town after being targeted by “live ammunition”, according to a rescuer.
In Yangon, the economic capital, a protestor who was trying to take shelter behind trash cans and other makeshift shields was shot, according to images filmed by AFP.
“The Burmese army is a terrorist organization”, reacted on Facebook Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a leading activist.
Asked by AFP, the army did not respond to requests for comment on this information.
But state media warned on Sunday that “tough action will inevitably be taken” against “lawless crowds.”
There are now around thirty dead in the ranks of demonstrators since the putsch of February 1, according to an NGO providing assistance to political prisoners (AAPP). The army says for its part that a police officer perished while trying to disperse a rally.
“Abominable violence”
The police and military use of lethal weapons against largely peaceful protests has sparked a new wave of international protests.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Twitter condemned “the abominable violence of the Burmese security forces”. “The use of lethal forces (…) and arbitrary arrests are unacceptable”, reacted for his part the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.
The Burmese ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, had himself severely broken a few days earlier with the putschist generals by calling for “an end to the military coup” and “to return the power of the State to the people ”. He was removed from his post by the junta.
The numerous international protests and the announcement of sanctions by the United States and the European Union have so far failed to influence the military.
“The world must step up its response. Words of condemnation are welcome but are insufficient, ”lamented the UN Special Rapporteur, Tom Andrews, adding that he was going to publish on Monday a list of options to be proposed to the Security Council.
Obscure charges against Suu Kyi
Many voices continue to demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw since her arrest, the 75-year-old ex-leader is being prosecuted for illegally importing walkie-talkies and violating restrictions linked to the coronavirus.
The hearing scheduled for Monday is to last all day and will focus mainly on the trial schedule, his lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told AFP who has still not been allowed to meet with his client and has been unable to attend. specify whether the latter could attend by videoconference.
The waves of arrests continue.
More than 1,130 people have been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup, including 270 for Sunday alone in Yangon, according to the AAPP.
The latter were transported to the city’s infamous Insein prison where many pro-democracy activists served long prison terms under previous dictatorships.
Several journalists have been arrested in recent days, including a photographer from the Associated Press agency.
The country has been rocked by a wave of protests and a campaign of civil disobedience since the putsch that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The last popular uprisings of 1988 and 2007 were bloodily suppressed by the army already in power for nearly 50 years since the country’s independence in 1948.