88 Generation student leader Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy (right), and about 200 National League for Democracy (NLD) members and supporters gather to commemorate Myanmar's 86th independence anniversary of a 1920 strike by Burmese students that is considered the beginning of the country's independence struggle, which culminated in independence from Britain in 1948 at NLD headquarters in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 14, 2006. (EPA-Yonhap)
South Korea condemned Myanmar military regime’s latest execution of democracy activists, issuing a joint statement with top diplomats from the United States and seven other countries on Tuesday.
On Monday, Myanmar’s ruling military said it had executed four democracy activists accused of committing “terror acts.” The activists were sentenced to death in secretive trials in January and April for supporting a civilian resistance movement fighting the military since last year’s coup.
South Korean Foreign Ministery took part in issuing the condemnation statement with High Representative on behalf of the European Union, and foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“The Myanmar military regime’s executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are reprehensible acts of violence that further exemplify the regime’s disregard for human rights and the rule of law,” the ministry’s statement read.
“We urge the regime to release all those unjustly detained, grant full and independent access to prisons and fulfill its obligations under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus to seek peace through dialogue, not further violence.”
The top diplomats also expressed support for the people of Myanmar and their aspirations for freedom and democracy and urged the military regime to end the use of violence.
“Our thoughts and condolences are with the bereaved families and loved ones as they grieve those unjustly put to death. We remember and mourn all lives lost in Myanmar in the aftermath of the coup.”
By Jo He-rim (
herim@heraldcorp.com)