Myanmar puts Suu Kyi on trial on charges critics call bogus

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By GRANT PECK

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial Monday on charges that many observers say are an attempt by the junta that deposed her to eliminate her as a political force, erase the country’s democratic gains and cement the military’s power.

Suu Kyi’s prosecution poses yet another major setback for Myanmar, which had been making slow progress toward democracy when a February coup prevented elected lawmakers from her National League for Democracy party from taking office following last year’s landslide victory.

Human Rights Watch said that the allegations being heard in a special court in the capital, Naypyitaw, are “bogus and politically motivated” with the intention of nullifying the victory and preventing Suu Kyi from running for office again.

“This trial is clearly the opening salvo in an overall strategy to neuter Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy party as a force that can challenge military rule in the future,” said Phil Robertson, the organization’s deputy Asia director.



FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2019, file photo, Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi waits to address judges of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Myanmar’s Anti-Corruption Commission has found that ousted national leader Aung San Suu Kyi had accepted bribes and misused her authority to gain advantageous terms in real estate deals, government-controlled media in the military-ruled country reported Thursday, June 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-myanmar-trials-e44a208c40440242e062c57be6f8362a

[Lucky Luciano]

1. She is the lesser of two evils in this case.