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Myanmar military executions prompt global outcry
A Myanmar-based watchdog said the military junta had not only carried out the executions illegally, but had also violated the Burmese penal code on the treatment of executed prisoners.
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Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing (center) attends a ceremony to mark the country's 77th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw on March 27. (AFP/STR)
T
he execution of democracy activists by Myanmar’s coup regime has sparked widespread condemnation, including from ASEAN human rights body member Indonesia, who criticized the military court’s execution of civilians – the first one the country has seen in decades.
Sentenced to death in closed-door trials in January and April, the four men had been accused of helping a resistance movement to fight the army that seized power in a coup last year and unleashed a bloody crackdown on its opponents, Reuters reports.
Among those executed were democracy campaigner Kyaw Min Yu, 53, and 41-year-old former lawmaker and hip-hop artist Phyo Zeya Thaw. They both lost their appeals against the sentences in June. The two others executed were Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum, the Indonesian representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), said Indonesia “not only regrets but strongly condemns” the Myanmar military’s decision on Monday to execute four activists on terrorism charges.
Yuyun extended her condolences to the families and friends of the activists, all of whom were unaware that the execution was taking place. She had warned against the execution of Burmese political prisoners during previous AICHR meetings, which she said fell on deaf ears.
“The executions were carried out on civilians under a military court ruling, which is bizarre because they are usually reserved for military affairs. Apparently, it is now being used to prosecute civilians,” Yuyun told The Jakarta Post.
