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Southeast Asian MPs slam Myanmar executions

Since the Feb 2021 military coup, some 76 people have been sentenced to death in Myanmar
Maung Kyaw, a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was among four political prisoners executed by Myanmar's military junta

Maung Kyaw, a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was among four political prisoners executed by Myanmar's military junta. (Photo: ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights)

Published: July 26, 2022 03:03 AM GMT
Updated: November 16, 2022 11:46 AM GMT

Parliamentarians from Southeast Asian nations have strongly condemned the execution of four political prisoners by Myanmar’s military junta as an “act of judicial barbarism.”

Myanmar’s state media announced that the death sentences of four prisoners were carried out on an unspecified date at Insein Prison in Yangon. They were the first such executions in the country since 1988 and sparked global outrage.

The four were executed for leading "brutal and inhumane terror acts", said the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

The prisoners included democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, also known as 'Jimmy' and former lawmaker Maung Kyaw from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy.  

“These executions are nothing but appalling acts of evil committed by a brutal junta that has shown no qualms about waging a war against the Myanmar population in order to cement its power,” said Eva Sundari, a former lawmaker from Indonesia and a member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

“The global community, and all ASEAN members in particular, should take these cold-blooded assassinations as yet another wake-up call on the true nature of the regime of terror that the Myanmar military is attempting to impose in the country,” she added.

"These sentences were handed without fairness, by military tribunals conducting trials lacking in any respect for due process"

The APHR is a forum of current and former parliamentarians from Southeast Asian nations that seeks to promote human rights and democracy in the region.

Some 76 prisoners in Myanmar sentenced to death, including two children, while 41 people have been given the death penalty in absentia as of July 22, according to rights group, Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, at least 2114 people have been killed by the self-styled State Administration Council (SAC), led by General Min Aung Hlaing, in its campaign to suppress the widespread opposition to military rule, the group reported.

The APHR noted these death sentences should be viewed as an attempt by the Myanmar military to provide “a veneer of legality to political assassination.”

“Yet it is evident that these sentences were handed without fairness, by military tribunals conducting trials lacking in any respect for due process,” it said.

“It is clear that these executions are made to strike fear among representatives of the democratic forces and political activists who oppose the junta. We believe that all those accused by the military junta are tried in secret, unfair and biased trials with no legal safeguards,” Tom Villarin, former Philippine MP and APHR member

"This means yet another increase in the junta’s brutality, which comes from a sense of impunity"

“Many political prisoners are subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and now there are dozens of prisoners in Myanmar jails who could be executed at any moment,” he added.

APHR chairman and Malaysian parliamentarian, Charles Santiago, noted that the political executions mark a new low for Myanmar as previous military regimes refrained from such executions.

“Not even the previous military regime, which ruled the country between 1988 and 2011, dared to carry out the death penalty against political prisoners. This means yet another increase in the junta’s brutality, which comes from a sense of impunity largely fostered by the failure of the global community to do anything effective to prevent it from committing further atrocities,” Santiago said.

The APHR noted that executions also serve as proof that the SAC led by Min Aung Hlaing has no intention to engage in any meaningful political dialogue with the pro-democracy forces led by the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG).

“Such a dialogue, one of the key points of the Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN member states and Min Aung Hlaing’s junta in April 2021, has never materialized.”

The forum insisted that Myanmar should immediately cease violence and stop the continuous shelling of villages and killing of protesters.

“For starters, they should begin exerting pressure on the SAC with targeted sanctions"

Through the all-out war against its people, Myanmar's military is committing “systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses” that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Kasit Piromya, a former MP and foreign minister in Thailand, and APHR member said the Myanmar junta must face the consequences for shamelessly violating the agreement to stop violence, and ASEAN members should seriously rethink their approach to the crisis in Myanmar.

“For starters, they should begin exerting pressure on the SAC with targeted sanctions and travel bans in the region in order to show Min Aung Hlaing and his men that they cannot commit their crimes with impunity,” he said.

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