Yangon/Washington/Geneva/New York/Beijing: The military junta today executed former National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, democracy activists Kyaw Min Yu, popularly known as Ko Jimmy as well as Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, Myanmar’s state media reported.
The four were convicted of helping to carry out “terror acts”. By executing them, the Military dictators of Myanmar ignored worldwide pleas for clemency for them, including from the United Nations experts and Cambodia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
This has been the first judicial execution in Myanmar since 1976, when a pro-democracy activist, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo was executed during the period of a previous military government led by dictator Ne Win.
Ko Jimmy and Phyo Zaya Thaw were arrested on October 23, and November 18, 2021, respectively. Ko Jimmy was subsequently charged with sedition. The junta accused Phyo Zaya Thaw of masterminding attacks in Yangon. Both Phyo Zayar Thaw and Ko Jimmy were also charged under the Counter Terrorism Law and sentenced to death by a military tribunal on January 21, 2022. Their subsequent appeals were denied. Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were convicted on murder charges. Their appeals were also denied. The case was reportedly heard by a military court behind closed doors.
On June 3, 2022, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern at the military’s decision to go ahead with executions and reiterated his calls for the respect of people’s rights to freedom of opinion and expression.
The executions of the four pro-democracy activists today immediately drew condemnation internationally with the exception of China. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters about China’s “principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs”. He stated, “We always maintain that all parties and factions in Myanmar should properly handle their differences and disagreements within the framework of the Constitution and laws with an eye on the long-term interests of the country and the nation”.
Incidentally, besides China, it was also noted in Washington that India – a major player in the region along with China – to a certain extent had not completely distanced itself from the junta. The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that the US had had “in-depth discussions” with India and other countries in the region about the goal of putting Burma back on the path to democracy.
The European Union, and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, issued a joint statement condemning the military regime’s execution of pro-democracy and opposition leaders in Myanmar.
“The Myanmar military regime’s executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime’s disregard for human rights and the rule of law,” the joint statement said. It urged the regime to release all those “unjustly detained, grant full and independent access to prisons and fulfil its obligations under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus to seek peace through dialogue, not further violence”.
In Washington, Price underscored that with the escalating violence with these “horrific atrocities” that the junta has carried out, there can be no business as usual with this regime. “We urge all countries to ban the sale of military equipment to Burma, to refrain from lending the regime any degree of international credibility, and we call on ASEAN to maintain its important precedent only allowing Burmese non-political representation at regional events,” he said. He added that all options that serve to cut off the regime’s revenue, which it uses to perpetrate this violence, were on the table.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet expressed her dismay that despite appeals from across the world, the military conducted these executions “with no regard for human rights”. She described the executions as “cruel violations of the rights to life, liberty and security of a person, and fair trial guarantees”. She added: “This cruel and regressive step is an extension of the military’s ongoing repressive campaign against its own people.”
Bachelet echoed the UN Secretary-General’s call for the military to “drop all charges against those arrested on charges related to the exercise of their fundamental freedoms and rights” and the immediate release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.
“The military seems unconcerned with ending this crisis or reducing violence in accordance with its international obligations, let alone any willingness to respect due process, justice or rule of law,” she said.
The High Commissioner reiterated her call to Myanmar’s neighbours and to the wider international community to hold the military accountable to its commitments under international law, as well as further to ASEAN’s “Five-Point Consensus”.
Thomas Andrews, the independent UN human rights expert for Myanmar, tweeted that he was devastated by the news that former parliamentarian Zeyar Thaw and longtime activist Ko Jimmy were executed with two others today. He stated that the UN Member States must honour their lives “by making this depraved act a turning point for the world’s response to this crisis”.
Reports suggest that today’s executions were carried out to instil fear among the pro-democracy protesters in the country. The military usurped power from the legitimately elected Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party government on February 1, 2021, which resulted in widespread protests by the people.
Since the military coup on 1 February 2021, 117 people, including two children, have been sentenced to death including 41 who were sentenced in absentia. Over 11,500 people remain in detention for opposing the military’s seizure of power.
“Most concerningly, over 30 per cent of over 2,100 people killed since February 2021 have died in military custody – most as a result of ill-treatment,” said Bachelet.
The top photo of Phyo Zeya Thaw was released by Myanmar’s State Media on November 19, 2021. Source @DVB_English|Twitter
– global bihari bureau
