McConnell Denounces Sham Trial and Sham Sentence for Aung San Suu Kyi
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued the following statement this morning regarding the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi:
“I strongly condemn the sham trial and the sham sentence that Burma’s illegitimate, unelected military junta has imposed on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Daw Suu Kyi’s so-called ‘trial’ was a farce. The proceedings had zero transparency. Her lawyers were silenced. This is not about COVID regulations, walkie talkies, or any of the other absurd pretexts. The junta simply wanted to keep the last leader the Burmese people elected for themselves off the streets, so they disregarded the rule of law and did so. This is the same shameless tyranny with which the junta imprisoned countless citizens of Burma, two American journalists, Nathan Maung and Danny Fenster, and is still holding the Australian economist Sean Turnell behind bars.
“The junta is flailing because they are frightened by what they see. Burma’s ethnic minorities, so often divided by their differences, have been coming together and standing behind the National Unity Government’s opposition to illegitimate military rule — even despite the regime’s escalating repression and violence against the people.
“Now more than ever, the United States and friends of democracy worldwide must continue to pressure the junta. As Congress works our way through the National Defense Authorization Act, I have added a bipartisan amendment that will ensure our Administration articulates and then advances a real strategy to hold the regime accountable and support democratic actors like the National Unity Government.”
Related Issues: Law Enforcement, Burma, NDAA
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