The execution of four political prisoners by Myanmar’s military junta made headlines in international news media on July 25 and sparked outrage and shock among world leaders.
The executions, which made a comeback after more than three decades in the conflict-torn nation, are an attempt to instil fear among the people who are offering strong resistance to the military rule since the coup in February 2021.
The United Nations was joined by world leaders including the United States, Europe and Japan, besides global rights groups to vigorously condemn the barbaric act of executing political opponents. The junta accused the four over the weekend, after accusing them of committing terror acts.
The four include former MP Phyo Zeya Thaw and activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy. Both were linked to democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party. The other two—Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw—were accused of murdering a woman, which many believe was a trumped-up charge.
“The regime’s sham trials and these executions are blatant attempts to extinguish democracy; these actions will never suppress the spirit of the brave people of Burma,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.
Thomas Andrews, the UN special ra-pporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said: “These depraved acts must be a turning point for the international community.”
The junta continues to unleash terror and commit atrocities on its people as the world fails to take real action. World leaders have paid much attention to the Ukraine war while Myanmar has been completely forgotten.
Only when mass killings such as the Christmas eve massacre in Kayah state occur does the nation grab international media attention and the UN and world leaders rush to release statements that repeatedly express ‘deep concern’ over Myanmar’s crisis.