BANGKOK, 26 Jul: International outrage over Myanmar\u2019s execution of four political prisoners intensified Tuesday with grassroots protests and strong condemnation from world governments, as well as fears the hangings could derail nascent attempts to bring an end to the violence and unrest that has beset the Southeast Asian nation since the military seized power last year.
\nMyanmar\u2019s military-led government that seized power from elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 has been accused of thousands of extrajudicial killings since then, but the hangings announced Monday were the country\u2019s first official executions in decades.
\n\u201cWe feel that this is a crime against humanity,\u201d said Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, speaking at the side of the United Nations\u2019 Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
\nHe said the executions would be a focus of the upcoming meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers, which begin in Cambodia in a week.
\nMyanmar is a member of the influential ASEAN group, which has been trying to implement a five-point consensus it reached on Myanmar last year calling for dialogue among all concer-ned parties, provision of humanitarian assistance, an immediate cessation of viol-ence and a visit by a special envoy to meet all parties.
\nWith the executions, he said, \u201cwe look at it as if the junta is making a mockery of the five point process.\u201d
\nHeyzer said that the U.N. sees the executions as a \u201cblatant violation\u201d of a person\u2019s \u201cright to life, liberty and security.\u201d
\nIn Bangkok, hundreds of pro-democracy demonst-rators protested outside neighboring Myanmar\u2019s embassy, waving flags and chanting slogans amid a heavy downpour.
\n\u201cThe dictators used their power arbitrarily,\u201d yelled a young man through a bullhorn to the crowd, some of whom waved pictures of Suu Kyi or the four executed men. \u201cWe can\u2019t tolerate this any more.\u201d
\nMyanmar\u2019s government spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, firmly rejected the criticism, saying the executions were carried out in line with the country\u2019s law and not for \u201cpersonal\u201d reasons.
\n\u201cWe knew that there may be criticism when the death penalties were handed down and conducted in line with domestic law,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cHowever, we did it for reasons of domestic stability, for the rule of law and order, and security.\u201d
\nHe said the executed men were convicted of crimes involving suppor-ting violent \u201cterrorists\u201d and acts \u2014 allegations denied by their defenders \u2014 and said their punishment was \u201cappropriate.\u201d
\n\u201cIf we considered leniency for those who committed such crimes it would have been cruel and without sympathy for the victims,\u201d he said.
\nAmong the four executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a 41-year-old former lawmaker from Suu Kyi\u2019s party, and Kyaw Min Yu, a 53-year-old democracy activist better known as Ko Jimmy. All were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military tribunal with no possibility of appeal.
\nThe executions were carried out over the weekend, and came as a surprise even to family members.
\nPhyo Zeya Thaw\u2019s mother Khin Win May told The Associated Press she had just spoken with her son via video conference on Friday and he had asked her for reading glasses, books and some spending money.
\n\u201cI was a little shocked when I heard about the execution, I think it will take some time,\u201d she said.
\nShe said she hoped her son and the others would be seen as martyrs for their cause.
\n\u201cI\u2019m proud of all of them as they sacrificed their lives for the country,\u201d she said.
\nThe execution of the four activists prompted immediate calls from around the world for a moratorium on carrying out any further sentences, and condemnation for what was broadly seen as a politically motivated move.
\nMyanmar, formerly known as Burma, announced in June that it was going to resume executing prisoners and has 113 others who have been sentenced to death, although 41 of those were convicted in absentia, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killing and arrests. At the same time, 2,120 civilians have been killed by security forces since the military takeover.
\n\u201cThis was a barbaric act by Myanmar\u2019s military regime,\u201d said New Zealand\u2019s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta of the four executions carried out. \u201cNew Zealand condemns these actions in the strongest possible terms.\u201d
\nAustralia\u2019s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was \u201cappalled\u201d by the executions.
\n\u201cAustralia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all people,\u201d she said. (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BANGKOK, 26 Jul: International outrage over Myanmar\u2019s execution of four political prisoners intensified Tuesday with grassroots protests and strong condemnation from world governments, as well as fears the hangings could derail nascent attempts to bring an end to the violence and unrest that has beset the Southeast Asian nation since the military seized power last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-196433","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}