EU says conviction against Suu Kyi is ‘clear attempt’ to exclude democratic leaders from Burma dialogue

Sep. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The European Union has assured this Thursday that the sentence of three years in prison against the former ‘de facto’ leader of the country Aung San Suu Kyi in an open case against her for violating the Official Secrets Law is “a clear attempt” to exclude to the democratically elected leaders of the national dialogue process.

“Only a genuine dialogue — within the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — involving her, the National League for Democracy, the Government of National Unity, and civil society and others in Burma can offer some way out of the current crisis,” EU Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Nabila Massrali said in a statement.

In this sense, the European Union has reiterated its “urgent appeal” for the “immediate and unconditional” release of “all” political prisoners, as well as “all those arbitrarily detained” since the coup.

Along with her, three former ministers and the Australian economist Sean Turnell, accused of having access to secret financial information when he was an adviser to Suu Kyi, were also sentenced. The defendants were sentenced under the legislation, which criminalizes the possession or dissemination of state information that “could be used directly or indirectly by an enemy.”

Suu Kyi, for her part, was already sentenced in January to four years in prison for the alleged possession of illegally imported walkie-talkies, a sentence that was added to the two years in prison previously imposed against her for violating the restrictions imposed. due to the pandemic during his election campaign in 2020, in line with the Natural Disaster Management Law.

The deputies of her formation, the National League for Democracy (NLD), took office despite the February 2021 coup in an informal ceremony and re-elected Suu Kyi for a second term despite the fact that she had been arrested along with other high officials, such as the then president of the country, Win Myint.

The coup was followed by a harsh campaign of repression against opponents, activists and protesters that has resulted in some 2,324 deaths to date and more than 15,500 detainees, according to data published by the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP). So far, 3,121 people have been released.