On November 21, 2015, five individuals were arrested in Myanmar for publishing materials “that could damage national security.” Their offense? Printing calendars. It sounds surreal but such is the reality in the age of the “War on Terror.” Daily and mundane activities can and have been prosecuted by states under the rubric of “protecting national security,” targeting not only dissidents but regular civilians going about their daily lives.
That’s what happened to Kyaw Kyaw, the owner of a printing company in the capital city of Yangon, when he and four of his colleagues were detained, made to plead guilty and pay a fine of $1 million Khyat ($770 USD) after which they were released. The release was short lived: the five were rearrested only three days later on charges that they violated article 505(b) of the Burmese penal code, which states that publishing material “with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility.” (Courtesy of The Diplomat)
March 11, 2016
Myanmar’s NLD Nominates Aung San Suu Kyi Confidant for President
The selection of one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s most trusted allies as her party’s choice for Myanmar’s president signals the importance she is placing on absolute loyalty in her top ranks as negotiations with the still-powerful military have reached a stalemate.
On Thursday, the National League for Democracy nominated Htin Kyaw, a writer and confidant of Ms. Suu Kyi, as the candidate who will almost certainly be confirmed head of state in a vote next week by parliament. The Nobel laureate is barred from holding the position herself, but has vowed to control the president from behind the scenes.
Mr. Htin Kyaw, son of a poet and son-in-law of an NLD co-founder, has spent decades at Ms. Suu Kyi’s side. When she was under house arrest at her lakeside home following elections in 1990 that the military scrapped when she won in a landslide, Mr. Htin Kyaw acted as interlocutor with the outside world, providing her with food, medicines and other necessities, according to senior party members. (Courtesy of WSJ)
On Thursday, the National League for Democracy nominated Htin Kyaw, a writer and confidant of Ms. Suu Kyi, as the candidate who will almost certainly be confirmed head of state in a vote next week by parliament. The Nobel laureate is barred from holding the position herself, but has vowed to control the president from behind the scenes.
Mr. Htin Kyaw, son of a poet and son-in-law of an NLD co-founder, has spent decades at Ms. Suu Kyi’s side. When she was under house arrest at her lakeside home following elections in 1990 that the military scrapped when she won in a landslide, Mr. Htin Kyaw acted as interlocutor with the outside world, providing her with food, medicines and other necessities, according to senior party members. (Courtesy of WSJ)
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