Military spokesman: “Criminals who expected to be criticized but deserved multiple executions”
ASEAN criticizes “retreating efforts for peaceful resolution”… Protests in Myanmar and Thailand
Amid growing international protests against the execution of people from the democratic camp, the Myanmar military regime announced on the 26th that “the execution of the death penalty is for the sake of justice.”
“The executions were carried out in the name of justice for the people,” military government spokeswoman Jo Min Thun said at a press briefing on the same day, asserting that “they are not pro-democracy activists, they are murderers who deserve punishment.”
“I knew the death penalty would bring criticism,” he said.
“Compared to other death sentences, they committed crimes that deserved multiple death sentences,” he said.
The Myanmar military government executed the death penalty for four members of the democratic camp on the 23rd, including former member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Pyo Jeya To (41) and pro-democracy activist Cho Min Yu (53).
When this news became known on the 25th, the Myanmar democratic camp strongly opposed it and the international community also poured out criticism.
Western countries, including the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, strongly condemned the execution of the Myanmar military.
The Korean government also issued a joint statement with the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the European Union (EU).
ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), which has traditionally followed the principle of ‘non-interference in internal affairs’, also strongly criticized the Myanmar military government, an exceptionally member state on the 26th.
Cambodia, the chair of ASEAN, said in a statement that it “retracted efforts to implement the five-point agreement adopted by ASEAN to peacefully resolve the Myanmar situation.”
“The execution of the death penalty ahead of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Cambodia next week, in particular, reveals the military’s serious lack of will to resolve the issue peacefully,” he said.
“ASEAN strongly and urgently urges all parties, not just Myanmar, to refrain from actions that endanger the peace, security and stability of the region as a whole,” it added.
Foreign Minister Saifudin Abdullah of Malaysia, an ASEAN member country, said, “The execution of the death penalty right before the ASEAN meeting is a mockery of the five ASEAN agreements by the military and should be taken very seriously. You shouldn’t do it,” he said.
In Myanmar, guerrilla protests against the military took place amid fierce protests from the democratic camp.
Small-scale protests were held in various places, including Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar, and inmates held protests at Insein Prison, where the executions were carried out.
Protests against the Myanmar military have been held around the world.
In Thailand, hundreds of people protested in front of the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok holding pictures of death row inmates and others.
/yunhap news
