Suu Kyi of Myanmar defends the imprisonment of two Reuters journalists

HANOI (Reuters) – Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's government leader, said on Thursday that the imprisonment of two Reuters reporters had nothing to do with freedom of expression and that he was not allowed to talk. they could appeal their seven-year sentences.

Suu Kyi, in her first public comment on the case since the two men were convicted, referred to the law of the colonial era under which they were accused.

"They were not imprisoned because they were journalists, they were imprisoned because … the court ruled that they had broken the law on official secrets," he said. she said at a World Economic Forum conference in Hanoi.

She made her comments in response to a question from a forum moderator who asked her if she was comfortable with incarcerating journalists.

Journalists Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were found guilty of official indictment on Monday last week in a landmark case that raised questions about Myanmar's progress towards democracy.

The two journalists, who had pleaded not guilty, were investigating the killing of 10 villagers of the Rohingya Muslim minority by Myanmar security forces at the time of their arrest. The army later admitted the killings and said it had punished several soldiers.

The United Nations, human rights and freedom of the press groups and various governments have criticized these beliefs. US Vice President Mike Pence has called for their release.

But Suu Kyi asked if people were aware of the details of the case.

"I wonder if so many people have actually read the summary of the judgment that has nothing to do with freedom of expression, it concerns a law on official secrets," she said.

"If we believe in the rule of law, they have every right to appeal judgment and show why the judgment was wrong."

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay was not immediately available to comment on Suu Kyi's remarks. He said last week that the court was independent and had followed the regular procedures.

Reuters, in response to Suu Kyi's comments, said in a statement:

"We continue to believe that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did not violate Myanmar's law on espionage and that at no time were they engaged in activities aimed at harming their country."

PRESSURE

For eight months of hearings, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo said that two police officers they had not met before handed them papers wrapped in a newspaper at a meeting in a restaurant in Yangon on December 12th.

Almost immediately afterwards, they said, they were taken in a car by plainclothes policemen.

On February 1, a police witness testified during cross-examination that information contained in the documents had already been published in newspapers.

In April, a prosecution witness testified that a senior officer ordered subordinates to file secret documents on Wa Lone to "trap" the journalist.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said Suu Kyi was wrong when she spoke about the verdict.

"It does not understand that the true" rule of law "means respect for evidence before the courts, actions brought on the basis of clearly defined and proportionate laws and the independence of the judiciary".

The convictions took place in a context of increasing pressure on Myanmar following a wave of security crackdown triggered by attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents against security forces in Rakhine State, West Myanmar, in August 2017 .

Earlier on Thursday, Suu Kyi said her government could have handled the situation better in Rakhine State.

"Looking back, we can of course think that the situation could have been better managed," she said. "But we think that for reasons of stability and long-term security, we must be fair to all parties … We can not choose and choose who should be protected by the rule of law."

More than 700,000 stateless Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since then, according to US agencies. Myanmar denied allegations of atrocities committed by the refugees, claiming that he was conducting a legitimate counterinsurgency operation against the militants.

US investigators said last month that the Myanmar army carried out mass killings and rapes of Rohingya with "genocidal intent" and that the commander-in-chief and five generals should be prosecuted for the most serious crimes in the country. international law.