Flower protests in Myanmar for Suu Kyi's 76th birthday
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[June 19, 2021]
(Reuters) - Supporters of Myanmar's
detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi wore flowers in their hair and paraded
with them at street demonstrations on Saturday as she marked her 76th
birthday locked up by the generals who overthrew her.
Protests have been held almost daily in Myanmar since Suu Kyi was ousted
in a Feb. 1 coup that cut short a decade of democratic reforms and also
sparked paralysing strikes and renewed conflict in the Southeast Asian
country.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday called for a stop to the
flow of arms to Myanmar and urged the military to respect November
election results and release political detainees, including Suu Kyi.
For decades a symbol of the fight for democracy under previous juntas,
she often wore flowers in her hair.
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Among those wearing flowers on Saturday was activist Thet Swe Win, who
had been at odds with Suu Kyi over human rights violations during her
own time in office.
"I demand freedom for all the people including Aung San Suu Kyi," he
said "Her individual rights and political rights are being violated."
A junta spokesman did not answer calls to seek comment.
Suu Kyi is among nearly 5,000 people currently detained by the junta for
opposing the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners activist group. It also says 870 people have been killed - a
figure challenged by the junta.
The army overthrew Suu Kyi after her administration dismissed its
allegations of fraud over her party's landslide election victory last
November. International monitors had said the vote was fair.
She now faces charges from illegally possessing
walkie-talkie radios and breaking coronavirus protocols to inciting
discontent, corruption and breaking the Official Secrets Act - which can
carry a 14-year jail term.
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![](../images/061921PIX/news_p63.jpg)
State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi attends the 22nd ASEAN
Plus Three Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chalinee
Thirasupa
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Suu Kyi's lawyers say the charges are absurd and her supporters say
they are aimed at eliminating her from politics.
The next hearing is set for Monday.
Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, but her standing in
Western countries collapsed in 2017 over her defence of the army
after the exodus of 700,000 minority Rohnigya Muslims in the face of
an offensive.
But the episode did nothing to dent her popularity in Myanmar, a
predominantly Buddhist country.
The General Assembly resolution calling for a halt of arms supplies
to Myanmar was adopted with the support of 119 countries. Belarus
was the only country to oppose it, while 36 abstained, including
China and Russia.
"The risk of a large-scale civil war is real," U.N. special envoy on
Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener told the General Assembly after
the vote. "Time is of the essence. The opportunity to reverse the
military takeover is narrowing."
(Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
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