Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi's hearing postponed due to lack of internet connection

It will finally be March 24.

The ex-head of the Burmese government Aung San Suu Kyi, who was to appear on Monday to answer for multiple offenses of which the junta accuses him, sees his hearing postponed by 9 days.

This Monday, the internet connection, still tangent in the country, compromised the appearance.

This postponement comes the day after a Sunday that left 44 people dead in pro-democracy ranks, according to the Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP).

This number makes this Sunday the deadliest day since the coup.

The NGO has recorded more than 2,000 arrests since February 1, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, still held in secrecy.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, was in good health on March 1 during his last videoconference hearing, his lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said.

The former head of government is being prosecuted for at least four counts: illegal importation of walkie-talkies, failure to comply with restrictions related to the coronavirus, violation of a telecommunications law and incitement to public unrest.

The junta also accuses her of corruption, claiming that she collected $ 600,000 and more than 11 kilograms of gold in bribes.

Probable "crimes against humanity"

After six weeks of pro-democracy protests, the generals are relentlessly continuing their repression.

More than 120 protesters have been killed since February 1, according to the AAPP.

Murders, persecutions, enforced disappearances, torture ... The UN Human Rights Council has denounced probable “crimes against humanity” committed by the army.

Heartbroken / outraged at news of the largest number of protesters murdered by Myanmar security forces in a single day.

Junta leaders don't belong in power, they belong behind bars.

Their supply of cash & weapons must be cut now.

I appeal to UN member states to heed my call to act.

pic.twitter.com/QxuES4Mhii

- UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews (@R RapporteurUn) March 15, 2021

"The leaders of the junta should not be in power, but behind bars," tweeted on Monday Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur for Burma, calling for an immediate end to the "supply of money and weapons" to military.

On Sunday, events were particularly tense in Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial suburb of Yangon that is home to numerous textile factories, with 22 people killed.

22 other pro-democracy protesters perished across the country, including at least seven in Yangon.

This assessment could be underestimated, according to the AAPP.

A policeman was also killed in Bago, northeast of the economic capital.

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"If we do not win, the army will destroy everything": in Burma, the pressure does not weaken

In Hlaing Tharyar, security forces opened fire on protesters after several Chinese factories burned down, with the Chinese embassy asking the authorities to "guarantee the safety" of its businesses and staff.

As plumes of smoke rose from the industrial area, numerous military vehicles were deployed and gunfire was heard continuously by residents hiding in homes.

Mobile internet connections still cut

No one has claimed responsibility for the fires, but anti-Chinese resentment has intensified in recent weeks in the country.

Some residents believe that Beijing, a major investor in Burma, has a too soft position vis-à-vis the putschist generals.

Following these clashes, the junta declared martial law in six cantons of the Yangon metropolitan area, including Hlaing Tharyar.

Anyone arrested in these areas will be tried by a military court and face a minimum sentence of three years of forced labor.

Mobile internet connections, which had been cut for several weeks at night but restored in the morning, were still not working early Monday afternoon in the economic capital, monitoring NGO Netblocks reported.