CALD Statement No. 4, S. 2022

CALD Statement 4, S. 2022 (Myanmar executions)

The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) condemns in strongest terms the barbaric execution of four anti-coup activists in Myanmar.

Those executed by hanging include Kyaw Min Yu, Hla Myo Aung, Aung Thara Zaw and Phyo Zeya Thaw.  Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former legislator from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), was a participant in CALD’s 25^th anniversary events in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2018.

The four men were executed for allegedly leading attacks on security forces and killing a woman accused of being an informant for the military government.  Their trials, which took place between January to April this year, were held in closed-door and widely criticized for not adhering to the principles of due process.  The military government also kept the exact date of their execution in secret, and only announced it via state media after the fact.

CALD considers these executions as an act of state terrorism and a blatant violation of fundamental human rights. These barbaric acts, the first use of capital punishment since the 1980s, could also signal further escalation of atrocities against opposition political leaders and democracy activists, who have been bravely fighting for democracy and freedom since the February 2021 coup led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

CALD appeals to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the broader international community to make Myanmar’s military government accountable for its actions. We specifically call on Cambodia, as the current ASEAN chair, to strictly adhere to the five-point consensus by not meeting with the head of the military junta and by making all efforts to meet with the National Unity Government (NUG). Moreover, we implore Western countries, including Australia, to come up with more decisive action on the worsening Myanmar crisis by imposing coordinated sanctions against members of the military government.

The Myanmar junta’s despicable acts have no place in our community of nations.

Categorised in: Statements

This post was written by CALD