MYANMAR’S SUU KYI ‘LOOKS HEALTHY’, LAWYER SAYS

Wed 31 March 2021:

Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears in good health despite two months of detention, her legal team said Wednesday as diplomatic pressure on the military junta ramped up.

Daily protests demanding the restoration of the elected government have been met with a crackdown that has left more than 520 civilians dead in the weeks since the February 1 coup.

The junta’s violent response has triggered international condemnation — and threats of retaliation from some of Myanmar’s myriad ethnic armed groups.

The US State Department ordered the departure of non-essential diplomatic staff and their families from Myanmar, and Japan — a top donor to the country — halted new aid payments.

The 75-year-old Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since she was deposed by the military and detained in the early hours of February 1.

But a member of her legal team, Min Min Soe, was summoned to a police station in the capital Naypyidaw for a video meeting with her on Wednesday.

Suu Kyi is facing a raft of criminal charges and conviction could see her barred for life from political office.

“The physical situation of DASSK (Suu Kyi) seemed good according to her appearance on video screen,” her legal team said in a statement.

Suu Kyi noted that during the meeting, police officers remained at the lawyer’s side, and guards monitored her at her end, the statement said, adding that the Nobel laureate had asked whether this was lawful.

World powers have repeatedly condemned the violent crackdown on dissent and hit top junta figures with sanctions.