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Yangon/New York: Amidst reports of a secret trial of noble laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the deposed President U Win Myint, by the military junta which usurped power from them in a bloodless coup, the United Nations demanded that all charges against the deposed leaders should be dropped and that Suu Kyi be released immediately.
Denouncing the developments in Myanmar, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters here last night (IST), that “our reaction is to continue, I think, in our firm denunciation of everything that has happened in Myanmar, the overturning of the democratic will of the people, and the ongoing arrests and detention of political leaders, of activists and people’s… the inability of people to protest peacefully”.
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Dujarric further said the UN team in the country was concerned with the impacts of a draft cybersecurity bill that has been circulated to mobile network operators and licensed network service providers. “The team is deeply worried that the bill is not aligned to international human rights standards, as it would permit illegitimate military-appointed authorities to infringe on the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, privacy and security,” he said.
To a specific question on whether there had been any progress in the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener’s request to visit Myanmar, the spokesperson said: “Short answer is no. We want her to be able to go. I think the Secretary‑General made that very clear in his statement.” He informed that Burgener was “continuing her contacts, regionally, more globally.” He said the UN Secretary‑General António Guterres had also raised the issue. “We feel it would be a step forward if she would be allowed to go in order to speak to the authorities directly,” the spokesman said.
Dujarric also pointed at her conversation with the deputy military commander.
– global bihari bureau
