More violence in Myanmar feared as junta’s executions send ‘ruthless’ message to Asean

Name: Four democracy activists in Myanmar executed by country’s ruling military junta
Uploaded: 2022-07-26T11:45:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 46 s
Description: Four democracy activists in Myanmar executed by country’s ruling military junta

The capital punishment of four democracy activists is a warning to the junta’s opponents and the global community for treating it like a pariah, observers say

Its move has ‘wiped out any chance of reconciliation’ with civilians, one expert says, while calls are mounting for Asean to issue an ultimatum against its member state

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Myanmar nationals in Bangkok rally amid outrage over Myanmar’s execution of four political prisoners. Photo: AP

Maria Siow

Published: 7:45pm, 26 Jul 2022Updated: 9:38pm, 26 Jul 2022

The Myanmar junta’s shock decision to lift a decades-old moratorium on executions to carry out the capital punishment on four democracy activists is a direct response to the heightening pressure it is facing amid the country’s civil strife, analysts say.

By executing Kyaw Min Yu, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw, the junta was likely expressing its “resentment” against its pariah status internationally, the experts said, adding that the move would likely stiffen anti-junta resistance.

Global condemnation of the executions have come thick and fast, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noting that the use of capital punishment for the first time since 1988 highlighted “a further deterioration of the already dire human rights environment in Myanmar”.

Malaysia’s foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah said in a press conference on Tuesday that the executions constituted “crimes against humanity”.

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Four democracy activists in Myanmar executed by country’s ruling military junta

The junta announced the executions of the four men on Monday, without elaborating on how it would carry out the punishment. A junta spokesman said the executions were carried out lawfully and described them as “justice for the people”.

Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former member of detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, and prominent democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, were put to death for activities involving explosives, bombings and financing terrorism.

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