The Irish Times view on Aung San Suu Kyi: back behind bars

A closed court in Myanmar on Monday sentenced ousted leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to another four years' imprisonment. Altogether the 76-year-old has been sentenced to a total of six years so far, being served incommunicado in a house in the capital Naypyidaw, with many more charges pending against her.

This time, her offence was possessing walkie-talkies in her home and violating Covid-19 protocols. The bodyguards’ walkie-talkies were discovered in a raid on her government villa during the military coup in February. The Covid charge stemmed from an episode during the 2020 election, won by her party in a landslide, in which she stood outside, in a face mask and face shield, with her dog, Taichito, at her side, and waved to supporters passing by in vehicles.

This latest fiction of a trial is yet another attempt to intimidate both Suu Kyi and the popular movement which is actively opposing the regime both with street protests and militarily, despite brutal repression. Suu Kyi, who previously served 15 years in jail for her opposition to military rule, led her party, the National League for Democracy, to landslide victories three times between 1990 and 2020, but the military allowed her to form a government only once, in 2016. Her role in the shared administration with the military, a pact with the devil which saw her deny and excuse military atrocities against the minority Rohingya, tarnished her reputation. But she remained a permanent reproach and threat to the generals, who saw the 2020 election as a final straw.

Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing’s regime has killed more than 1,400 people and arrested more than 11,000 since the coup, according to human rights groups. The Myanmar military was accused of committing one of its largest massacres on Christmas Eve when soldiers killed at least 35 fleeing villagers and burned their bodies. Save the Children, one of the groups that condemned the massacre, said two of its staff members were among those killed as they returned home for the Christmas holiday.