Former Myanmar Leader Sentenced to 5 Years for Corruption – A Threat to Democracy or Upholding it?

I have been following the situation in Myanmar very closely, when on Feb. 1 2021, the military seized control of the country and arrested “newly elected leader” Aung San Suu Kyi among other members of her party.  It then declared a state of emergency, handing power to the military for a year.

Myanmar’s military leader stated via a televised address that his junta would hold a new election and hand power to the winner.  Senior General Min Aung Hlaing did not say when the election would be held, but repeatedly stated that the November 2020 election, won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), had been fraudulent.

I noted the similarities (including the timing), of election fraud allegations made by President Donald Trump and the Myanmar Military.   This was the reason this story piqued my interest, which led to the following 2 articles in which I gave my personal opinion/analysis of the situation….. read here, and here.

Now there has been a stunning update reported by Sky News on 27^th April 2022, but how wide (or narrow) an audience did this “breaking news” story reach? I have only just stumbled across it myself.  Read here

Suu Kyi had denied the allegation that she had accepted 7 gold bars and $600,000 dollars in 2017-18 as a bribe by a top political colleague.

The maximum punishment for the offence is 15 years in prison and a fine.

Following her arrest, she has been charged with multiple crimes from violations of electoral and state secrets laws to incitement and corruption.  She also faces charges of breaching of COVID rules during election campaigning, possession of unlicensed walkie-talkies [interesting] and leasing government-owned land at a discount rate.

The former leader’s trial was closed to the public, and her lawyers were barred from speaking to the press.  News of the verdict came from a legal official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorised to release information.

She is on trial in multiple cases which could bring combined maximum sentences of more than 100 years.

Analysis

Myanmar is a very intriguing story, due to the mirroring of political events happening at the same time in America, as outlined in my articles.

However, mainstream media, political pundits, academics, talking heads and fact checkers have portrayed the military’s action as “a threat to our democracy” (not protection of it – as I see it), so what does that phrase actually mean? Who is right?

In the interest of balance, below is a sample of mainstream reporting of the situation…..

“More than a year after Myanmar’s military seized full control in a coup — imprisoning the nation’s elected leaders, killing more than 1,700 civilians and arresting at least 13,000 more — the country is at war.

 

On the one side, a military junta. On the other, thousands of young former city dwellers who have exchanged college courses, video games and sparkly nail polish for life and death in the jungle. At one encampment, 3,000 such militia members live in crude bamboo or tarpaulin shelters. They engage in battle almost daily.

These Generation Z warriors have thrown off balance a military that has long made war crimes its calling card. And the conflict is escalating, forcing Myanmar’s army to fight on dozens of fronts, from the borderlands near India, China and Thailand to the villages of the country’s heartland.”

 

So the million dollar question is has “Our Democracy” always been an illusion?  Or has it been hi-jacked over time by a Central Banking System/Corporatist led International Rules Based Order centralising power (and enrichment) for themselves at the cost of the people?

Thought provoking isn’t it?