Aung San Suu Kyi refuses to condemn military arrest of journalists

Photo: Flickr / James Stencilowsky
Photo: Flickr / James Stencilowsky

State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi refused to condemn the military’s arrest of three journalists last week, instead deferring to Myanmar’s laws restricting freedom of association.

“It is not for us to comment on…how the various cases should be tried in the court – that’s for the justice sector to take care of,” she said at press conference in Naypyidaw on Thursday, where she appeared with Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende.

DVB reporters Aye Nai and The Irrawaddy reporter Lawi Weng were arrested by the Myanmar military in northern Shan State on June 26 after attending a drug-burning ceremony organized by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. They are expected to be charged with violating the Unlawful Associations Act, which restricts contact with armed groups that have not signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and carries a minimum sentence of two years in prison.

The law was enacted by the British colonial regime in Burma to control the local population and suppress political activity through the law.

“This should not be seen very narrowly as three journalists against the army or vice versa, but in general, as to whether the existing laws are in line with our desire for justice and democratization,” Suu Kyi added.

The 2008 constitution places military affairs beyond the control of Myanmar’s civilian government, which is controlled by Aung San Suu Kyi. Her lack of influence over the armed forces is thought to be a main reason she almost never criticizes them. Instead, according to analyst David Scott Mathieson, the NLD prefers to “prioritize democratizing legal reforms.”

In that fashion, while she did not offer her position on the journalists’ arrest, she alluded to what might be her belief that the law the journalists are accused of violating should be amended.

When asked whether the arrests were in line with the law, the state counsellor said: “Rule of law means that they have to have, first of all, just law. Our term for rule of law in Myanmar is not rule of law, but rule of just law. So we actually make sure that the laws are just. And if any…sectors of the public feel that the laws are unjust, then these laws can be amended by the parliament.”

The preliminary hearing for the detained journalists has been scheduled for July 11. In perhaps another attempt to obscure the conflicts the reporters were covering, prison authorities transferred the hearing from Hsipaw, where they are being held, to Namhsan, where entry is restricted.

At the same press conference, Suu Kyi also commented on another unjust law – Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, which broadly prohibits online “defamation” and is commonly used to stifle political dissent and satire.

Again deferring to the law, she said: “About 66(d), the legislature is considering amendments to that particular law.”

 

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