Myanmar's Military Government Executes 4 Democracy Activists
2022-07-26
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1Myanmar's ruling military has executed four democracy activists whom the government had accused of carrying out "terror acts."
2The government confirmed Monday it had completed the executions, the first to be carried out in the country in more than 40 years.
3The action led to widespread condemnation from human rights groups and members of the international community.
4The four men were accused of helping a resistance movement fight Myanmar's military government.
5They were sentenced to death during trials held in January and April.
6They were activists. The trials were not open to the public.
7The military took power on February 1.
8The seizure came just as lawmakers were to take their seats in parliament.
9Elections had been held the November before.
10Military officials said the election was dishonest and the overthrow was necessary as a result.
11The country's electoral commission had rejected the army's claims of wrongdoing.
12Among those executed was democracy campaigner Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, the country's Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
13The 53-year-old was a longtime democracy activist in the country.
14He had already spent more than 12 years in detention for political activism before his arrest in Yangon last October.
15Kyaw Min Yu had been put on a wanted list for social media postings that the military government claimed led to unrest.
16State media said he was accused of terrorist acts including mine attacks and heading a militant group called the Moon Light Operation.
17Also executed was 41-year-old Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker and hip-hop music artist.
18The government ordered his arrest in November based on information from people detained for shooting at security force members, state media reported at the time.
19Phyo Zeya Thaw was a close ally of Myanmar's ousted civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
20He was jailed in 2008 under a past military government after being accused of having illegal contacts and owning foreign currency.
21The two others executed were Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw.
22Both of them were sentenced to death in April for the March killing of a woman accused of being an informant for the military, the army chief said in an online statement.
23Aung Myo Min is the human rights minister for the National Unity Government.
24The group is a civilian administration established outside of Myanmar after the military seized power.
25The organization rejected the accusations that any of the men executed were involved in violence.
26"Punishing them with death is a way to rule the public through fear," Aung Myo Min told The Associated Press.
27The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar said it mourned the loss of the four men and expressed sorrow to their families.
28It criticized the decision to execute them. "We condemn the military regime's execution of pro-democracy leaders and elected officials for exercising their fundamental freedoms," the embassy said.
29Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press the legal process against the four had been politically driven and were "grossly unjust."
30Thomas Andrews is an independent United Nations-appointed expert on human rights.
31He had condemned the decision to go ahead with the executions when they were announced in June.
32Andrews called for a strong international reaction to the executions.
33"These individuals were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military (court) without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights laws," he said.
34The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political prisoner, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976.
35That execution happened under a past military government.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Myanmar's ruling military has executed four democracy activists whom the government had accused of carrying out "terror acts." 2The government confirmed Monday it had completed the executions, the first to be carried out in the country in more than 40 years. The action led to widespread condemnation from human rights groups and members of the international community. 3The four men were accused of helping a resistance movement fight Myanmar's military government. They were sentenced to death during trials held in January and April. They were activists. The trials were not open to the public. 4The military took power on February 1. The seizure came just as lawmakers were to take their seats in parliament. Elections had been held the November before. Military officials said the election was dishonest and the overthrow was necessary as a result. The country's electoral commission had rejected the army's claims of wrongdoing. 5Among those executed was democracy campaigner Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, the country's Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported. The 53-year-old was a longtime democracy activist in the country. He had already spent more than 12 years in detention for political activism before his arrest in Yangon last October. 6Kyaw Min Yu had been put on a wanted list for social media postings that the military government claimed led to unrest. State media said he was accused of terrorist acts including mine attacks and heading a militant group called the Moon Light Operation. 7Also executed was 41-year-old Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker and hip-hop music artist. The government ordered his arrest in November based on information from people detained for shooting at security force members, state media reported at the time. 8Phyo Zeya Thaw was a close ally of Myanmar's ousted civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. He was jailed in 2008 under a past military government after being accused of having illegal contacts and owning foreign currency. 9The two others executed were Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. Both of them were sentenced to death in April for the March killing of a woman accused of being an informant for the military, the army chief said in an online statement. 10Aung Myo Min is the human rights minister for the National Unity Government. The group is a civilian administration established outside of Myanmar after the military seized power. 11The organization rejected the accusations that any of the men executed were involved in violence. "Punishing them with death is a way to rule the public through fear," Aung Myo Min told The Associated Press. 12The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar said it mourned the loss of the four men and expressed sorrow to their families. It criticized the decision to execute them. "We condemn the military regime's execution of pro-democracy leaders and elected officials for exercising their fundamental freedoms," the embassy said. 13Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch, told The Associated Press the legal process against the four had been politically driven and were "grossly unjust." 14Thomas Andrews is an independent United Nations-appointed expert on human rights. He had condemned the decision to go ahead with the executions when they were announced in June. 15Andrews called for a strong international reaction to the executions. "These individuals were tried, convicted and sentenced by a military (court) without the right of appeal and reportedly without legal counsel, in violation of international human rights laws," he said. 16The last judicial execution to be carried out in Myanmar is generally believed to have been of another political prisoner, student leader Salai Tin Maung Oo, in 1976. That execution happened under a past military government. 17I'm Bryan Lynn. 18The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 19____________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21regime - n. a system of government or other control, especially one that people do not approve of 22fundamental - adj. relating to the most important or main part of something 23grossly - adv. extremely 24convict - v. to decide officially in a court of law that someone is guilty of a particular crime 25_______________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 27Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.