Myanmar coup: Aung San Suu Kyi charged by army over ‘walkie-talkies and handshakes’

Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country’s ousted president have been charged by the military with minor offences relating to some walkie-talkies allegedly imported without the proper licence and for shaking hands during the pandemic, according to a police document.

Ms Suu Kyi was arrested on Monday as the armed forces rounded up political leaders and seized control of the country, complaining of voter fraud in the recent general election. The document said Ms Suu Kyi would be detained for a further two weeks while the charges were investigated.

The actions of the military have been widely condemned by the international community, with the UN calling it a major setback for the progress of democracy in Myanmar and the G7 nations urging generals to “restore power to the democratically-elected government [and] release all those unjustly detained”.

But China, which hasn’t criticised the coup so far, has blocked the UN Security Council from formally condemning it.

The police document issued on Wednesday claimed that during a search of Ms Suu Kyi’s residence, military officers found hand-held radios that were imported illegally and used without permission. 

President Win Myint, who was arrested and removed from office by the military on Monday, would also be charged with offences under the natural disaster management law, according to the police document, after he, his wife and his daughter took part in a September campaign event that saw him shaking hands with many attendees, allegedly in breach of Covid regulations.

On Tuesday, the Myanmar army chief General Min Aung Hlaing, who is now in control of the country, announced plans to investigate alleged fraud in the November elections, while also pledging to prioritise tackling the Covid-19 outbreak and handling the economy, reported Myanmar’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

He said that a new election commission "would examine the voting data to find correct results, and actions would be taken accordingly in the process." They also plan to scrutinise the voter lists against family household registrations. The military disbanded the previous election commission after it said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the election.  

In November’s vote, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party took just 33 seats compared to Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which won 396 out of the 476 available.

Min Aung Hlaing emphasised that Covid-19 measures taken by Ms Suu Kyi's government would be continued. So far, Myanmar has recorded over 140,000 cases of coronavirus including 3,100 deaths. The general said he is also looking at measures to boost the economy, especially the agricultural sector which involves 70 per cent of the population.

But according to eye witness reports from Myanmar on Wednesday, those on the front line of the fight against Covid-19 in the country were also leading the non-violent resistance against the coup, with health staff including doctors either stopping work in protest or wearing red ribbons.

A statement by the newly formed Myanmar Civil Disobedience Movement said that doctors at 70 hospitals and medical departments in 30 cities joined the protest, while it accused the army of putting its interests above those of the people during a pandemic.  

Myo Myo Mon, 40, who was among the doctors who stopped work to protest, said: “We really cannot accept this. We will do this in a sustainable way, we will do it in a non-violent way... This is the route our state counsellor desires," referring to Ms Suu Kyi.

The civil disobedience campaign is receiving support from student and youth groups as well. Videos posted online showed residents of Yangon shouting anti-coup slogans and banging on pots, pans or anything else they could get their hands on in demonstration.

Yangon resident San Tint said: “It is a Myanmar tradition to drive away evil or bad karma by beating tin or metal buckets."  

According to the NLD, Ms Suu Kyi had called on the public to reject the coup.  Some users on Facebook have changed their profile pictures to images of Ms Suu Kyi to show solidarity, while others vowed to boycott products from firms linked to the military.

The protest movement could face an uphill struggle, however, as the military establishment on Tuesday warned against any acts that could cause rioting or instability. Correspondents said that despite the online posts of dissent, the armed forces appeared to have a firm grip on the country.

Reference:Independent:  Adam Withnall and Mayank Aggarwal  11 hrs ago 

Foreign Office tells Richard Ratcliffe to keep quiet as wife's release date nears

The Foreign Office has told the husband of jailed British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe to stop publicising plans to free her on 7 March or else risk jeopardising her release from prison.

Richard Ratcliffe rejected the advice, writing on Twitter: “We continue to believe that transparency is the best form of protection from abuse. We have also made clear that the government’s role is to remind the Iranian authorities that Nazanin has the UK’s protection not to act as a messenger for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps mafia tactics and suppression.”

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is under house arrest at her parents’ home in Tehran and is due to complete her five-year sentence for spying on 7 March. Last year Iran threatened to press additional charges against her, but the courts pulled back under media and diplomatic pressure and a trial was postponed.

Ratcliffe is in London with their six-year-old daughter, Gabriella. On Twitter Ratcliffe publicised the Foreign Office warnings and said: “If anything happens to Nazanin or her family or if she is not released to the UK on March 7 – there should be consequences. We will be discussing with the foreign secretary Dominic Raab his back-up plan.”

The dispute between Ratcliffe and the Foreign Office is partly one over tactics, and Ratcliffe’s decision to go public with a high-profile campaign. The Foreign Office is more prone to believing that quiet diplomacy has a greater chance of producing results.

In a blistering note sent to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) after a heated video meeting with diplomats on Friday, Ratcliffe wrote: “I do think it was a remarkable lack of judgement by the FCDO to allow itself to be enrolled in passing on IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] threats to the family, and say it would be the fault of our campaigning around Nazanin’s release date if something happened to Nazanin or her family.

“I said on the call that the UK government passing on this message ‘to inform our decision making’ was enabling Iranian mafia tactics. That is not an exaggeration.

“We have discussed repeatedly the ways in which the IRGC have threatened the family, and attempted to manipulate them through insidious messages direct and through mediators.”

He claims he has been repeatedly told by FCDO ministers to be quiet, and even urged at one point to take up therapy.

Ratcliffe added: “The IRGC have an infinite capacity to spot weakness and an opportunity to manipulate – it is why the UK’s weakness on diplomatic protection is so genuinely ill advised. They sniff out every opportunity, unless you push back immediately.”

He also challenges the government to describe his wife’s capture as “state hostage taking” rather than an internal matter. “I don’t want there to be any doubt in the foreign secretary’s mind that we are approaching the time to make good on our conversations to impose a cost on hostage taking. My view is that if you won’t do it now, even when Nazanin is not released at the end of her sentence, then it is safe to presume that you never will.” he wrote.

“Either she is home at the end of her sentence, or there are consequences. Anything else is just noise.”

Last week Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholam-Hossein, Esmayaeli, warned Raab not to interfere in Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case.

He said: “Nazanin-Zaghari is our current convict and she is serving her sentence, and she is yet to stand trial for another charge in her case that has been sent to the court with an indictment. The court has not yet ruled on the new case.”

He added it is against diplomatic norms to comment on our judicial cases.

The Foreign Office is concerned that highlighting the date set for her release from imprisonment is unwise since it might antagonise the regime and prompt it into pressing further charges.

Ratcliffe thinks on the other hand that Iran can respond to external pressure, and points out that the Foreign Office has afforded her the status of diplomatic protection, a legal status that is supposed to elevate her detention as a matter of dispute between the two states.

Raab said last week “we have intensified those negotiations and are leaving no stone unturned. I want to get Nazanin released, absolutely as soon as possible.”

Boris Johnson announces 'national clap' for Captain Sir Tom Moore at 6pm this evening

Boris Johnson has announced a 'national clap' for Captain Sir Tom Moore this evening, to mark his death yesterday.

The PM said Captain Tom dedicated his life to serving others, and encouraged people to join in a "national clap" in memory of him.

Mr Johnson told the Commons: "We all now have the opportunity to show our appreciation for him and all that he stood for and believed in.

"That is why I encourage everyone to join in a national clap for Captain Tom and all those health workers for whom he raised money at 6pm this evening."

The 100-year-old's death has prompted reaction from around the world, after he raised more than £32 million for the NHS during the first coronavirus lockdown.

Charities have vowed that the legacy of Sir Tom, who died on Tuesday morning after testing positive for Covid-19, will live on "for years and years".

His family said the last year of his life was "nothing short of remarkable", and that he had "experienced things he'd only ever dreamed of".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said his contribution will be formally marked.

Describing him as an "inspiration", the minister told BBC Breakfast: "I will ensure we mark his contribution properly and appropriately at the right moment."

Asked whether a statue might be built "in possibly his home town or where he was born or in London", Mr Hancock told LBC: "Yes, I do think that we should find a way, at the right time, to honour the contribution that he made to the NHS and he was an inspiration to so many people."

Sir Tom set out to raise £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday last April - but his efforts struck a chord with the nation and donations flooded in.

In acknowledgement of his efforts, he was knighted by the Queen during a unique open-air ceremony at Windsor Castle in summer 2020. 

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny says jail term 'blatant lawlessness' designed to intimidate Russians 

Reference: The Telegraph: Nataliya Vasilyeva  3 days ago