Myanmar authorities have charged 14 supporters of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for protesting against the extension of her house arrest, police said yesterday.
They were arrested on Suu Kyi’s 63rd birthday on June 19 as they shouted for her release outside the party headquarters of her National League for Democracy (NLD).
“They were charged at the township court on Friday afternoon for causing public unrest that day by shouting slogans,” a police source said.
The NLD said it was working for their release.
“I was told 14 people appeared at Bahan township court yesterday afternoon. We are hoping for the best for them,” party spokesman Nyan Win said.
Last Monday the NLD accused the government of illegal detention.
“The arrest was not in accordance with the law,” the statement said.
On Friday, four NLD members were each sentenced to a year in jail for urging people to vote “No” in a nationwide constitutional referendum, which was held and passed by the ruling junta in May.
The court imposed the jail sentences “for trespassing with intent to commit offense,” Nyan Win said.
The NLD strongly opposed the draft constitution, which it and other critics charged would perpetuate military rule beyond a general election supposed to be held in 2010.
The four were arrested in Tounggok in Rakhine state in Myanmar’s west in March for distributing leaflets urging voters to reject the draft charter, Nyan Win said.
The new constitution was adopted after it won overwhelming approval in a national referendum held in May. Critics said the referendum was conducted in an unfair manner, with opportunities to oppose it restricted and irregularities in voting.
Nyan Win said the four were sentenced on June 27 by a court in Tounggok township, and they were the first people imprisoned for opposing the Constitution.
The Tounggok area is noted for opposition to Myanmar’s ruling generals.
The NLD said another senior party member had also been arrested on Wednesday in Shwe Pyitha township in northern Yangon without reason.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese