Former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is due to appear before the Burmese courts on Wednesday, accused in particular of corruption by the junta which continues its indiscriminate repression, with the death of a seven-year-old girl shot dead by the security forces.
The hearing concerning Aung San Suu Kyi must be held by videoconference and could be disrupted: Internet access remains very limited in Burma, the army having ordered the cut of mobile connections and several wifi networks.
In an attempt to extinguish the wind of democratic rebellion that has been blowing over the country since the coup d’état of February 1, the military is stepping up their response every day.
More and more civilians who do not participate in the protest, including women and children, are being targeted.
On Tuesday, Khin Myo Chit, a seven-year-old girl was killed “by a fatal shot in the stomach while she was in her house” in Mandalay (center), according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP ). His death has not been confirmed at this stage from an independent source to AFP.
The NGO Save the Children said it was “horrified that children continue to be among the targets”, listing around 20 minors killed in the past seven weeks.
A total of 275 civilians were killed, according to the AAPP. The toll could be much heavier: hundreds of those arrested are missing.
“Violent terrorists”
Tuesday, the spokesman of the junta, Zaw Min Tun, for his part reported 164 victims in the ranks of the protesters, described as “violent terrorists”.
He said he was determined to “crack down on lawlessness”, ignoring new sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union.
Violence remains very sharp in Mandalay (center) where 21 civilians have died since Sunday.
On the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, barricades erected by demonstrators were set on fire, houses were looted, gunfire echoed in several areas of the city, according to local media.
The army is also tightening its judicial grip on Aung San Suu Kyi, held in solitary confinement since his arrest.
The former leader is due to appear on Wednesday before a court in Naypyidaw, the administrative capital, around which the police have been deployed in numbers.
“The audience can be very disturbed or not even start […] the court has no wifi ”for the moment, told AFP his lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, who has still not been allowed to meet his client.
Doubtful testimonies
The generals accuse the former leader of corruption.
Two men confessed in videos released by state media claiming to have paid the two of them more than a million dollars and eleven kilos of gold.
Observers wonder about the authenticity of these testimonies: one of the witnesses is imprisoned, the other has a troubled past.
The former de facto head of the civilian government is also charged with four other counts, including incitement to public unrest.
If she is found guilty of the charges against her, she could be sentenced to long years in prison and be banned from political life.
The junta justified its putsch alleging “enormous” frauds during the legislative elections in November, won overwhelmingly by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (LND).
Tuesday, the spokesman for the junta assured that many false ballots had circulated during this election. He has broadcast videos of voters claiming to have been paid by representatives of the NLD.
Party members, local officials, strikers, activists: more than 2,800 people have been arrested since the coup, according to the AAPP.
Many are held incommunicado and have no legal representative. Hundreds are “missing” lamented the UN, a United Nations expert citing probable “crimes against humanity”.
The junta also targets the media. Thein Zaw, an Associated Press photographer accused of “sowing fear and spreading false news”, is summoned this Wednesday before a court in Yangon.