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Myanmar slams foreign outrage over activists’ death sentence
The United Nations, the United States State Department and France last week denounced the rejection of the appeals of a veteran activist and a former lawmaker, a decision that paves the way for the country's first executions in decades.
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M
yanmar's ruling junta has condemned what it called "reckless and interfering" foreign statements about a rare execution order against two prominent opposition figures, accusing them of aiding terrorism by demanding their release.
The United Nations, the United States State Department and France last week denounced the rejection of the appeals of a veteran activist and a former lawmaker, a decision that paves the way for the country's first executions in decades.
A state newspaper on Tuesday carried a foreign ministry statement rejecting the international criticism, expressing "utmost indignation and strong protest" at France in particular for calling the Myanmar junta an illegitimate military regime, and accused it of meddling in its affairs.
"The ministry protests and objects in the strongest terms to the irresponsible and reckless statements and remarks," it said, adding the US, France and UN remarks were "abetting terrorism" and neglecting what it called violent attacks against authorities.
Kyaw Min Yu, a veteran democracy activist, and Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a lawmaker for the former ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were sentenced to death by a military tribunal in January on charges of treason and terrorism.
It is unclear when they will be executed or how they pled in their trials, which Myanmar has largely held behind closed doors.
Judicial activists say the junta is controlling the courts and denying its opponents fair trials.
The military has been condemned globally for its deadly crackdown on the protests and dissent that followed its February 2021 coup.
The UN said its investigations showed the military had committed mass killings and crimes against humanity. The junta has said it is seeking to restore peace and order.
Resistance
The parallel government opposed to the military rule announced on Tuesday it was forming its own police force, in its latest effort to hamper the junta's efforts to govern after a coup last year.
The military has labelled its opponents "terrorists", including the shadow National Unity Government (NUG), an alliance of anti-junta groups of which many members are in hiding or in self-imposed exile.
The NUG said it was ready to take responsibility for domestic law enforcement with a police force accepted by the people.
Its purpose was "to take lawful action against the terrorist military council for committing human rights violations, war crimes and terrorism acts against the people," the NUG said in a statement.
It is not immediately clear how and when the NUG would form and operate a police force and how many personnel it would recruit. Spokespersons for the NUG and the ruling military council could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment.
The NUG has since last year led a campaign to raise funds and stifle the military's efforts to consolidate power, ranging from tax boycotts and overseas bond issues to a mock sale of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing's mansion.
The NUG last year called for the public to rise up against the military in a "people's defensive war", announcing the formation of People's Defense Forces, which have battled troops in the countryside.
About 700,000 people have been displaced by fighting and instability in Myanmar since the coup, according to the United Nations.
