Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - Kyaw Min Yu's wife says that if her husband dies, he would take with him the ideals he has held duri...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - Kyaw Min Yu's wife says that if her husband dies, he would take with him the ideals he has held during a life spent battling authoritarianism. Kyaw Min Yu was condemned to death on the instructions of Myanmar's ruling generals.
Jimmy Kyaw Min Yu and Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker and hip-hop singer, are poised to be the first persons to be executed in Myanmar since 1988.
In a closed-doors hearing in January, they were condemned to death for treason and terrorism, accused of assisting militias in fighting the army that seized control last year and started a brutal crackdown on its opponents.
The military has not stated when they will be hanged, although there is widespread anticipation in Myanmar that they will be executed soon.
The planned executions have been widely denounced around the world, with two United Nations experts describing them as a "vile attempt to spread fear" among the populace.
Nilar Thein, Kyaw Min Yu's wife, said her husband was being made an example of for refusing to comply with his captors. Kyaw Min Yu was a political prisoner for 18 years under Myanmar's previous military government.
"He would never give up his political convictions for anything. He will remain steadfast in his convictions "Nilar Thein, who is currently in hiding, spoke to Reuters on the phone.
"Ko Jimmy will always be a part of our hearts."
The appeals of Kyaw Min Yu, 53, and Phyo Zeya Thaw, a 41-year-old ally of deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, were dismissed earlier this month.
It's unclear how they pleaded in court or the degree of their alleged role in the resistance movement, which is fighting the junta in what it calls a "people's defensive war."
When asked if Kyaw Min Yu was involved, his wife stated she would not accept the military's characterization of him, but that the entire country was protesting the generals' "terrorist deeds."
'SYSTEMATIC ATTACK' is a term used to describe an attack on a computer system.
Several foreign nations, notably the US and France, as well as human rights organisations, have strongly condemned the scheduled killings.
"The world must not lose sight of the fact that these death sentences are being handed down in the context of the military murdering civilians almost every day in its widespread and systematic attack on the people of Myanmar," said Tom Andrews, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and Morris Tidball-Binz, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial summary or arbitrary executions.
Since the February 2021 coup, Human Rights Watch has documented 114 people condemned to death in Myanmar, in what it calls private tribunals with "lightning convictions" aimed at quelling dissent.
In a letter sent this month to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), expressed significant concern among Myanmar's neighbours.
The junta has made it clear that it will not back down, describing Western criticism as "rash and meddling."
Its spokesperson stated on Thursday that the penalty was reasonable.
"Required steps must be carried out at the appropriate times," Zaw Min Tun said at a press conference.
The two men were targeted, according to Phyo Zeya Thaw's wife, due of their role as members of a youth movement that staged months of anti-coup protests last year. She claimed that resuming executions would be a litmus test for international support for the opposition, and she pleaded for foreign action.
Thazin Nyunt Aung, speaking via phone from an undisclosed location, said: "The junta is aiming to kill the revolution."
"We've been fighting this revolution with the idea that we just have ourselves to contend with. We've begun to wonder whether we have the globe with us or not "she stated
