Myanmar Spring Chronicle – June 12 Scenes
MoeMaKa, June 13, 2023
Potential from the visit of the military council to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
In today’s news, the news that the chairman of the military council’s peace negotiation committee, Lt. Gen. Yar Pyae, Home Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Soe Htut, and retired Lt. Gen. Khin Zaw Oo, visited Aung San Suu Kyi in prison in recent weeks and reported it as headline news.
There is no confirmation or denial from the military council about this news, and some may argue that the visit happened or not because it is difficult to officially confirm it. However, this kind of information can also be obtained from a source such as the Prison Department of Nay Pyi Taw. It is a difficult matter to cover up the event of a visit to the prison, so we can conclude who they came to meet by looking at who came and where they came to. It is not easy to know what they are talking about if the participants do not speak out, but there is no doubt that they will be discussing the current situation.
The military council arrested Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Myint, U Win Htein, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung and other party leaders and allowed them to meet separately with lawyers when they were tried in court. At that time, the lawyers relayed to the news media what Aung San Suu Kyi had said.
Since that time, armed attacks, killings, and explosions have been gradually expanding, and the military council would certainly have some guesses as to whether Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would express her displeasure. On the days of the trial, before or after the trial, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was informed about what was happening outside through her lawyers, and it seemed that it would be politically beneficial for the military council if Aung San Suu Kyi said that she did not agree with such attacks, armed path, and killings. However, since there was no such statement, a few weeks later, each lawyer was banned from talking to the media with the judge’s signature so that the media could not disclose the news by citing the lawyers by name.
After those incidents, there were reports that some generals from the military council went to meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the prison, but the military council did not respond or confirm it. Some of the people who were released after serving time in the prison have also reported that Lieutenant General Soe Htut visited the prison more than once. Some of the people who were released said that newspapers published by the military council were brought to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in order to get information from the outside.
On the other hand, the attitude that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi seemed to hold was that she did not want to comment on anything happening outside of the time she was incarcerated because she did not know exactly what was happening outside, such as the formation of the National Unity Government and People’s Defense Forces.
It is also said that some of the leaders of the NLD party were instructed to follow such a principle when they met face-to-face with her. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi may have adopted the principle of not commenting on the events that are happening outside without knowing exactly when she is under arrest.
It is also assumed that this kind of attitude will be held in the last meetings as well. The military council has detained Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a military coup and sentenced her to more than 30 years in prison on more than a dozen charges of corruption, breach of secrecy, and election fraud. So, it may be impossible for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to talk with the military council properly because of these acts of defaming her like a criminal.
The military council may want to use her influence to reduce the armed attacks, as most of the people who are leading the current armed attacks, bombings, and killings are members of the NUG government, NLD MPs, former parliament speakers, etc. However, the military council’s efforts to use her political influence to reduce armed attacks have become difficult to succeed in, as it is like asking for money back from the family after abducting a person who had been sentenced to long-term prison terms for such semi-criminal violations of the law.