Myanmar junta to continue with cases against Suu Kyi

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar (AA) - The Myanmar military junta announced that it would continue with cases against ousted State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other prisoners, rejecting the UN and international community's call to free them.

During hour-long live streaming on Facebook, military spokesperson Zaw Min Tun defended the military coup and the security forces' handling of the crowd during anti-coup protests across the country.

Brushing aside the threats of sanctions against Myanmar by the US and Western countries in response to the military coup, Tun said: "We are already expecting it. We expect some countries to implement sanctions."
"We are ready to face these sanctions," he added.

The Myanmar military junta, which blocked social media on Feb. 6 in the face of increasing anti-coup protests, interestingly made its first media contact through Facebook.

Myanmar has more than 22 million active users, and since the ban, a significant number of people have downloaded the virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the government's order.

However, despite the ban, the junta has opted to use a social media site to communicate with the media from the administrative capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

On the issue of excessive use of weapons, catapults, and water cannons on demonstrators by the police and security forces during the anti-coup protests, Tun said the security forces treated the crowd in line with the law and did not use undue force to suppress the protesters.

Most local media outlets boycotted the military junta's first media contact, while foreign correspondents -- many based in the commercial city of Yangon -- were unable to participate due to short notice.

Few credible media outlets, gathered in an office in Nay Pyi Taw, attended the live streaming, while the military did not offer straight responses to their questions.