May 24, 2021
Detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday voiced defiance in her first public comments since being held in a coup, vowing her ousted political party would “exist as long as the people exist.”
Myanmar has been in uproar since the February 1 putsch, with near-daily protests and a nationwide civil disobedience movement. More than 800 people have been killed by the military, according to a local monitoring group.
In her first in-person court appearance, Suu Kyi told her lawyer her National League for Democracy would “exist as long as the people exist,” even as the junta threatens to dissolve the party — which swept elections in 2020 — over alleged voter fraud.
The Nobel laureate — who had not been seen in public since the coup — sounded “healthy and fully confident” during the 30-minute meeting, her lawyer Min Min Soe told AFP.
“She wishes her people to stay healthy as well as affirmed the NLD will exist as long as people exist because it was founded for people,” she added.
Suu Kyi has been hit with a string of criminal charges including flouting coronavirus restrictions during last year’s election campaign and possessing unlicensed walkie-talkies.
There was a heavy security presence in the capital Naypyidaw, an AFP correspondent said, with the road to the specially-constructed courthouse blocked off by police trucks.
Suu Kyi had faced weeks of delays to her legal case and her lawyers had struggled to gain access to their client.
The next hearing was set for June 7, Min Min Soe said, adding she had also met with former president Win Myint, who was ousted and detained along with Suu Kyi.
Ref : AFP
