Latest news with #AungSanSuuKyi
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Myanmar's military leader makes rare appearance at event honouring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honouring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former prime minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country – then called Burma – achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former prime minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Myanmar's national flag flutters at half-mast outside the City Hall in Yangon on Saturday on the 78th Martyrs' Day. Photo: AFP Suu Kyi was absent from the ceremony for a fifth year Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council, and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals, joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10.37am, the time of the 1947 attack.
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Myanmar junta chief attends Aung San memorial for first time since 2021 coup, daughter Suu Kyi remains jailed
YANGON, July 19 — Myanmar's junta chief yesterday attended annual commemorations for the country's assassinated independence hero for the first time since the military seized power more than four years ago. Known affectionately as 'Bogyoke' (General), Aung San led Myanmar's battle for independence from Britain but was gunned down in July 1947, just months before his dream was finally realised. His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi — who was two at the time of his death — became a democracy figurehead, Nobel laureate, and nemesis of the military. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing attended the wreath-laying ceremony yesterday at the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Yangon, the former capital, footage broadcast by state media MRTV showed. He was joined at the monument next to the famous Shwedagon Pagoda by other top military generals commemorating Aung San's killing. It is the first time Min Aung Hlaing has attended the event since he took power in 2021, and comes as his military fights anti-coup forces around the country and prepares to hold an election that has been criticised by international monitors. Born in 1915 under British colonial rule, Aung San became leader of nationalist fighters in what was then Burma — making him the founder of Myanmar's military. He remains a deeply revered figure and a core factor behind his daughter's enduring popularity. She has been detained since the coup and spent her 80th birthday last month — and yesterday's remembrance of her father's killing — in junta detention serving a raft of lengthy sentences. — AFP
Toronto Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Myanmar's military leader puts in rare appearance at event honoring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
BANGKOK (AP) — The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honoring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Myanmar's leader puts in rare appearance at event honoring Aung San Suu kyi's father
The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honoring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former Prime Minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six Cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country – then called Burma – achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former Prime Minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Suu Kyi was absent from the ceremony for a fifth year. Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals, joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10:37 a.m., the time of the 1947 attack. Democracy supporters also held scattered rallies in parts of the country that are not under military control. The military government is planning elections later this year. The event comes five months before elections that the military has promised to hold by the end of this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to legitimize the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and is expected to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The 2021 military takeover was met with widespread nonviolent protests, but after peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. Since the army took power, 6,974 people, including poets, activists, politicians, and others, have been killed, and 29,405 people have been arrested by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. The military government calls that figure an exaggeration. The military, which is now estimated to control less than half the country, has been accelerating its counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by opposition groups ahead of the election.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Myanmar's military leader puts in rare appearance at event honoring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honoring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former Prime Minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six Cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country — then called Burma — achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former Prime Minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Suu Kyi was absent from the ceremony for a fifth year Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council, and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10:37 a.m., the time of the 1947 attack. Democracy supporters also held scattered rallies in parts of the country that are not under military control. The military government is planning elections later this year The event comes five months before elections that the military has promised to hold by the end of this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to legitimize the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and is expected to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The 2021 military takeover was met with widespread nonviolent protests, but after peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. Since the army took power, 6,974 people including poets, activists, politicians and others have been killed, and 29,405 people have been arrested by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. The military government calls that figure an exaggeration. The military, which is now estimated to control less than half the country, has been accelerating its counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by opposition groups ahead of the election.
