Myanmar junta plays down Suu Kyi jail term, says sentence halved ‘on grounds of humanity’
- At a virtual briefing with regional journalists, junta information minister Maung Maung Ohn insisted there was ‘no partiality’ in Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial
- Asean’s role in the crisis was also discussed – as was Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s apparent embrace of Myanmar’s generals
Speaking at a virtual briefing with regional journalists, information minister Maung Maung Ohn said junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s decision to halve Suu Kyi’s sentence from four to two years was based on a “gesture on grounds of humanity”.
The junta minister did not directly respond to a question on whether Suu Kyi’s other cases would be dropped, saying instead that the sentence was handed down by the judge “according to the state constitution” and there was “no partiality” in interpreting the law.
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Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to 2 years in jail
He also fielded questions on Sunday’s anti-coup protest in Yangon, which left five dead after a military truck rammed into a small crowd of demonstrators.
He said the protests were “the result of pressure” from anti-junta forces who were making young people “get emotional”, adding that some actions could be taken “unintentionally” during crowd management.
Speaking alongside Maung Maung Ohn in the briefing was the junta’s minister of investment and foreign economic relations, Aung Naing Oo. The briefing was attended by journalists from the South China Morning Post, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Singapore’s Straits Times.
Junta officials have in recent months chosen to increase engagement with foreign media outlets to discuss economic issues.