Aung San Suu Kyi 'in good health, will appear in court in few days': Myanmar junta chief

Myanmar junta chief has said that the ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and will soon appear in court in the upcoming days. In the general’s first television interview since the February 1 coup, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing talked for two hours with Hong Kong’s Phoenix Television on Thursday. However, the full program is yet to air but in an excerpt released on social media on May 22, the Myanmar junta chief informed about Suu Kyi was initially placed in house arrest and then slapped with criminal charges of fraud.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health. She's been staying at home and will appear in court in a few days," he said in Burmese that was translated into Chinese by the network.

Further, when Hlaing was asked about Suu Kyi’s political achievements, the general appeared not to deny her achievements and said, “In short, she has done everything she can.” Since February 1 coup, the Nobel laureate has not been seen in public after the Myanmar military placed her along with other civilian elected leaders under house arrest.

One of the charges against Suu Kyi is a violation of COVID-19 restrictions during the November elections in 2020. She has also been charged for having unlicensed walkie-talkies. While one of the most heinous charges against her alleges that she violated Myanmar’s colonial-era Official Secrets Act, Suu Kyi is scheduled to appear in from of the court on May 24 for the first time after weeks of delay to her legal battle.

Junta-backed Election Commission To Dissolve NLD

Meanwhile, after over three months after Myanmar’s military overthrew the civilian elected government, the junta-appointed election commission will dissolve Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy Party (NLD) because it was fraud in November 2020 election, reported Myanmar Now on May 21 citing a commissioner.  The media outlet further said that the decision to dissolve the party was made during a meeting with political parties even though it was boycotted by major parties including NLD. In the election that the junta said triggered its coup, NLD won with an overwhelming majority. 

Now, the chairman of the junta-backed Union Election Commission of Myanmar, Thein Soe said that NLD’s election conduct was illegal “so we will have to dissolve the party's registration,” as per the report. He further said that “Those who did that will be considered as traitors and we will take action.” As per CNN report, both the junta spokesperson and for a pro-democracy national unity government that includes the ousted NLD members did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

IMAGE: AP