Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Washington (December 6, 2021) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, released the following statement upon reports that imprisoned Burmese elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to four years in prison by a Burmese court, which was then reduced by coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to two years. Min Aung Hlaing oversaw a coup against Suu Kyi on February 2, 2021 after her National League for Democracy (NLD) party overwhelmingly won elections at the end of 2020, and the military government imprisoned Suu Kyi, other NLD officials, and thousands of political prisoners thought to oppose the military junta.
“This sentence, which is devoid of legal merit, is another step in the Burmese military’s campaign to thwart the will of the people of Burma in their quest for freedom and democracy,” said Chair Markey. “The Burmese military must end its assault on freedom of expression and rule of law, release all political prisoners, and restore the democratically-elected government of Burma. The United States can best help support the aspirations of the people of Burma by preventing oil and gas revenues from flowing into the Burmese military’s coffers, a step for which I have repeatedly called. The Biden administration also must make a formal declaration as to whether the crimes committed by the Burmese military against the Rohingya people in 2017 constitute genocide. The Senate should urgently pass my Rohingya Genocide Determination Act to recognize the genocide for what it was and provide some justice for the Rohingya people and all the people of Burma.”