(Reuters) – Myanmar government leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained on Monday asked a court to allow him to meet in person with her lawyers when she appeared at a hearing via a video link to deal with junta allegations military that could see her imprisoned for years. .
As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called on people to show their opposition to the February 1 coup during this week’s traditional New Year’s holiday in a largely Buddhist country.
Suu Kyi, 75, who led Myanmar’s fight against the government for decades and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been detained since the coup and charged with various crimes. These include a violation of a secret official act from the colonial era that could see her imprisoned for 14 years.
She was allowed to speak to her lawyers only via video link in the presence of security officials and it is not known if she is even aware of the unrest that has gripped the country since the military took power.
“No, I couldn’t, we could only talk about legal issues,” Min Min Soe’s lawyer told Reuters when asked if his legal team had managed to talk to her about the protests in which more than 700 people were killed. .
The lawyer said that Suu Kyi looked healthy while repeating a request to meet his lawyers face to face. The next hearing is on April 26.
In addition to the charge of official secrecy, Suu Kyi was charged with illegal possession of two-way radios and violating coronavirus protocols. She was also charged with bribery by the ruling military council.
Her lawyers say the charges have been dropped and dismiss the bribery as a joke.
An additional complaint against her was filed Monday regarding coronavirus rules, Min Min Soe said.
The coup plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps towards democracy, while the military gave up politics and allowed Suu Kyi to form a government after her party won the 2015 elections.
The military says it had to overthrow its government because the November elections won again by the National League for Democracy were rigged. The Electoral Commission rejected the accusation.
The coup sparked relentless protests by those opposed to the military rule and the steadfast suppression of generals who say only they can save the country from disintegration.
“THE POWER OF PEOPLE”
Security forces killed 706 protesters, including 46 children, in the coup, according to a report by the activist group of the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).
Among them were 82 people killed in the town of Bago, about 70 km northeast of Yangon, on Friday.
Without being discouraged by the violence, activists called for defiance this week for the traditional new five-day year, known as Thingyan, which begins on Tuesday.
The most important holiday of the year is usually celebrated with prayers, ritual cleansing of Buddha images in temples and throwing bold water on the streets.
“The military council does not own Thingyan. The power of the people is in the hands of the people, “Ei Thinzar Maung, a leader of the General Strike Collaboration Committee protest group, wrote on Facebook.
Referring to a “Thingyan of the People,” Ei Thinzar Maung said Buddhists should wear certain religious outfits and recite prayers together so that members of small Christian communities could wear white and read psalms and for followers of other religions to follow. the example of their leaders. .
Social media reports said security forces opened fire in the northwestern city of Tamu and police broke up a protest in Mandalay.
Three civilians have been killed in clashes between the army and the ethnic minority of northern Kachin insurgents, Irrawaddy reported online.
The details of the violence were difficult to obtain due to the edges of the junta on broadband internet and mobile data services.
A spokesman for the junta could not be reached for comment.
Reuters staff report, written by Robert Birsel; edited by Jane Wardell & Simon Cameron-Moore and Angus MacSwan