Suu Kyi’s lawyer rejects bribery accusation against Myanmar leader
Yangon, Myanmar, March 12 (efe-epa).- A lawyer for Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has rejected the accusation of corruption made against her by the military junta that took power on Feb. 1 through a coup.
Suu Kyi accepted illegal payments worth $600,000 as well as gold while in government, junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun claimed Thursday without presenting evidence, in a new indictment against the leader who has been detained under house arrest since the army takeover.
But lawyer Khin Maung Zaw, one of Suu Kyi’s legal representatives, called the complaint a “hilarious joke.”
“In my fifty-year experience as a political activist and analyst I’ve never met such illogical mud slinging,” the lawyer added on social media.
“She may have defects but bribery and corruption aren’t her traits.”
The junta accuses the Nobel Peace Prize winner of having received the money and gold during her tenure from Phyo Min Thein, chief minister of Yangon Region.
It is the most serious accusation against Suu Kyi, 75, who is already accused of importing walkie-talkies, using illegal communications equipment, violating the natural disaster law and causing “fear and alarm.”
The news coincided on Thursday with one of the bloodiest days of security forces crackdowns of the protests against the coup, in which at least 10 people died.
Since the coup, more than 70 people have been killed “due to violent and arbitrary crackdowns,” and at least 2,045 have been arrested, of which 319 have already been released, according to the country’s Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The military has justified taking power on grounds of alleged electoral fraud in November’s elections, in which international observers did not detect any wrongdoing and which resulted in a landslide victory for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party. EFE-EPA
mya-nc/tw
