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Myanmar’s ruling military has killed four democracy activists accused of helping to carry out “terrorist acts”, it said on Monday, drawing widespread condemnation of the Southeast Asian country’s first executions in decades.
Sentenced to death in closed-door trials in January and April, the men were accused of helping a resistance movement to fight the military, which had seized power in a coup last year and bloodied its opponents. action was taken.
myanmarThe National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration outlawed by the junta, called for international action against the military.
“The global community must punish its cruelty,” NUG President’s Office spokesman Kyaw Jaw told Reuters in a text message.
Among those hanged were propagandists of democracy. Kyaw Min YouThe Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said, popularly known as Jimmy, and former parliamentarian and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw.
Kyaw Min Yew, 53, and Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, an aide to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, lost their appeals against the sentencing in June. Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were the two other people executed.
“These executions amount to arbitrary deprivation of life and are yet another example of Myanmar’s atrocious human rights record,” said Irwin van der Borgat, regional director of Amnesty International’s rights group.
“Four men were convicted by a military court in highly confidential and deeply unfair trials.”
Phyo Zair Thaw’s wife Thazin Nyunt Aung said by telephone that prison officials did not allow families to remove the bodies.
The men were held in the colonial-era Insen prison and a person with knowledge of the incidents said their families had come here last Friday.
The source said that only one relative was allowed to interact with the detainees through the online platform.
Phyo Zyr Thaw’s mother Khin Vin Tint told BBC Burmese: “I asked (prison officials) why you didn’t tell me or my son that this was our last meeting… I feel sorry for it.”
State media reported the executions on Monday, and junta spokesman Jaw Min Tun later confirmed the sentence to the Voice of Myanmar. Nor was the information given about the time.
Hanging has already been done in Myanmar.
An activist group, the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), said Myanmar’s last judicial executions were in the late 1980s and that 117 people had been sentenced to death since the coup.
A Junta spokesman defended the death penalty last month, saying it was appropriate and used in many countries.
The United States vowed to work with regional allies to hold the ruling military accountable and called for an end to violence and the release of political prisoners.
“The United States strongly condemns the brutal execution of Burmese military rule by pro-democracy activists and elected leaders,” a White House National Security Council spokesman said in a statement.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), appealed not to execute junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in a letter in June, prompting deep concern among Myanmar’s neighbours.
“Even the previous military regime, which ruled between 1988 and 2011, did not dare to impose capital punishment against political prisoners,” said Malaysian parliamentarian Charles Santiago, chairman of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi Said that the executions went against Japan’s repeated requests for a peaceful solution and the release of detainees, and would further isolate Myanmar.
China’s foreign ministry urged all parties in Myanmar to properly resolve conflicts within their constitutional framework.
Myanmar has been in chaos since last year’s coup, sparking conflict across the country after the military crushed mostly peaceful protests in cities.
The AAPP says security forces have killed more than 2,100 people since the coup. Junta says that this figure has been exaggerated.
The true picture of the violence is difficult to assess as the conflict has spread to more remote areas where ethnic minority rebel groups are also fighting the military.
The Arakan Army (AA), a major ethnic militia in Myanmar’s troubled region, said the death penalty shattered hopes of any peace settlement. Rakhine State,
Last Friday, the World Court overruled Myanmar’s objections to a genocide case involving the Muslim Rohingya minority, paving the way for a full trial.
Analyst said the latest execution closes any chance of ending the unrest in Myanmar Richard HorseInternational Crisis Group.
“It is the regime that demonstrates that it will do what it wants and will not listen to anyone,” Horsey said. “It views this as a display of strength, but it could be a serious miscalculation.”
Sentenced to death in closed-door trials in January and April, the men were accused of helping a resistance movement to fight the military, which had seized power in a coup last year and bloodied its opponents. action was taken.
myanmarThe National Unity Government (NUG), a shadow administration outlawed by the junta, called for international action against the military.
“The global community must punish its cruelty,” NUG President’s Office spokesman Kyaw Jaw told Reuters in a text message.
Among those hanged were propagandists of democracy. Kyaw Min YouThe Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said, popularly known as Jimmy, and former parliamentarian and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw.
Kyaw Min Yew, 53, and Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, an aide to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, lost their appeals against the sentencing in June. Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were the two other people executed.
“These executions amount to arbitrary deprivation of life and are yet another example of Myanmar’s atrocious human rights record,” said Irwin van der Borgat, regional director of Amnesty International’s rights group.
“Four men were convicted by a military court in highly confidential and deeply unfair trials.”
Phyo Zair Thaw’s wife Thazin Nyunt Aung said by telephone that prison officials did not allow families to remove the bodies.
The men were held in the colonial-era Insen prison and a person with knowledge of the incidents said their families had come here last Friday.
The source said that only one relative was allowed to interact with the detainees through the online platform.
Phyo Zyr Thaw’s mother Khin Vin Tint told BBC Burmese: “I asked (prison officials) why you didn’t tell me or my son that this was our last meeting… I feel sorry for it.”
State media reported the executions on Monday, and junta spokesman Jaw Min Tun later confirmed the sentence to the Voice of Myanmar. Nor was the information given about the time.
Hanging has already been done in Myanmar.
An activist group, the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP), said Myanmar’s last judicial executions were in the late 1980s and that 117 people had been sentenced to death since the coup.
A Junta spokesman defended the death penalty last month, saying it was appropriate and used in many countries.
The United States vowed to work with regional allies to hold the ruling military accountable and called for an end to violence and the release of political prisoners.
“The United States strongly condemns the brutal execution of Burmese military rule by pro-democracy activists and elected leaders,” a White House National Security Council spokesman said in a statement.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), appealed not to execute junta chief Min Aung Hlaing in a letter in June, prompting deep concern among Myanmar’s neighbours.
“Even the previous military regime, which ruled between 1988 and 2011, did not dare to impose capital punishment against political prisoners,” said Malaysian parliamentarian Charles Santiago, chairman of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi Said that the executions went against Japan’s repeated requests for a peaceful solution and the release of detainees, and would further isolate Myanmar.
China’s foreign ministry urged all parties in Myanmar to properly resolve conflicts within their constitutional framework.
Myanmar has been in chaos since last year’s coup, sparking conflict across the country after the military crushed mostly peaceful protests in cities.
The AAPP says security forces have killed more than 2,100 people since the coup. Junta says that this figure has been exaggerated.
The true picture of the violence is difficult to assess as the conflict has spread to more remote areas where ethnic minority rebel groups are also fighting the military.
The Arakan Army (AA), a major ethnic militia in Myanmar’s troubled region, said the death penalty shattered hopes of any peace settlement. Rakhine State,
Last Friday, the World Court overruled Myanmar’s objections to a genocide case involving the Muslim Rohingya minority, paving the way for a full trial.
Analyst said the latest execution closes any chance of ending the unrest in Myanmar Richard HorseInternational Crisis Group.
“It is the regime that demonstrates that it will do what it wants and will not listen to anyone,” Horsey said. “It views this as a display of strength, but it could be a serious miscalculation.”
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