New charge filed on Suu Kyi as Myanmar crackdown intensifies

Police in Myanmar filed a new charge against deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her lawyer said Tuesday, as the military authorities who seized power in a coup intensified their crackdown against their opponents.

Suu Kyi, who was detained in the February 1 military takeover, already faced a charge of illegally possessing walkie-talkies — an apparent attempt to provide a legal veneer for her house arrest. The new charge accuses her of breaking a law that has been used to prosecute people who have violated coronavirus restrictions, lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters after meeting with a judge in a court in the capital, Naypyitaw.

It carries a maximum punishment of three years in prison. Suu Kyi's lawyer told reporters he has not seen her since her arrest — and only arrived after an unexpected videoconference the judge said had been held with her. The status of the second charge, whether the police complaint had been accepted for trial by the court, was not clear. However, changes to the Penal Code instituted by the junta last week could allow Suu Kyi to be detained indefinitely, even if she has not formally been charged by the court.

The legal maneuver comes two weeks after the military seized power in a shocking halt to Myanmar's fragile progress toward democracy, most visible in Suu Kyi's tenure as national leader. Since the coup, the junta has ratcheted up the pressure on protesters resisting the takeover, including violently breaking up some demonstrations and blocking internet access.

A spokesman for the United Nations said any new charges against Suu Kyi don't change the world body's "firm denunciation" of the military overturning the "democratic will of the people" and arresting political leaders, activists and peaceful protesters.

 "We have called for charges against her to be dropped, for her to be released," United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.

More protests were expected Wednesday all over the country. On Tuesday in Yangon, the country's largest city, police blocked off the street in front of the Central Bank, which protesters have targeted amid speculation online that the military is seeking to seize money from it. Buddhist monks demonstrated outside the UN's local office in the city.

Around 3,000 demonstrators — mainly students — had returned to the streets of Mandalay, carrying posters of Suu Kyi and shouting for the return of democracy.

On Monday, security forces there had pointed guns at a group of 1,000 demonstrators and attacked them with slingshots and sticks. Local media reported that police also fired rubber bullets into a crowd and that a few people were injured.

The protests are taking place in defiance of an order banning gatherings of five or more people.

For a third night in a row, the military ordered an internet blackout — almost entirely blocking online access. The shutdowns are scheduled for 1 am to 9 am Once before in recent weeks it imposed a similar blackout and has also tried less successfully to block social media platforms. It has also prepared a draft law that would criminalize many online activities.

While the military did not say why the internet was blocked, there is widespread speculation that the government is installing a firewall system to allow it to monitor or block most or all online activity.

State media have been acknowledging the protest movement only indirectly. The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported about a meeting of the State Administration Council, the new top governing body, and quoted its chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, saying the authorities "are handling the ongoing problems with care."

It said the council discussed taking legal action against protesters and providing "true information" to the media.

The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper also reported that council members discussed acting against a "parallel government" established by some elected lawmakers of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party who were prevented from taking their seats in Parliament.

In the days following the takeover, the group formed a committee, declaring themselves the true representatives of Myanmar's people and asking for international recognition. No such recognition has come, even as the United States and other governments have condemned the coup and urged the military to return power to the elected government and release Suu Kyi and other detainees.

Neighboring China, meanwhile, has so far not condemned the takeover. Some protesters have accused Beijing — which has long been Myanmar's main arms supplier and has major investments in the country — of propping up the junta.

China's ambassador to the Southeast Asian country responded to those accusations, noting that Beijing has friendly relations with both Suu Kyi's party and the military, according to the text of an interview posted on the embassy's Facebook page Tuesday. Chen Hai said he wished the two sides could solve their differences through dialogue.

"The current development in Myanmar is absolutely not what China wants to see," he said.

In the interview, Chen also addressed what he said were rumors that China was helping Myanmar to control its internet traffic and others that Chinese soldiers were showing up on the Myanmar's streets.

"For the record, these are completely nonsense and even ridiculous accusations," Chen said.

The military contends there was fraud in last year's election, which Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide, and says it will hold power for a year before holding new elections. The state election commission found no evidence to support the claims of fraud.