The United Nations on Tuesday called for a return to democracy in Myanmar after the military-controlled election commission said that the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party will be dissolved for failing to re-register under a new electoral law.
While speaking to the media, Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric said, “I think this is another step in the direction that we would not like to be going into. We want to see a return to democracy in Myanmar. We would like to see the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other people who continue to be detained, and we will continue to work towards that.”
The statement came after Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy (NLD) party among 40 political parties was dissolved for failing to meet the ruling military’s registration deadline for an election.
Notably in January, the Myanmar military gave two months to political parties to re-register themselves under a strict new electoral law before fresh elections.
To this, the opponents said the elections will be neither free nor fair.
In December 2022, a military court in Myanmar sentenced the country's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to a further seven years in prison on charges of corruption, taking her total jail term to 33 years.
The court found Suu Kyi guilty of corruption in relation to the purchase, repair and rental of a helicopter for use during natural disasters and state affairs, including rescues and emergencies.
She now faces a total of 33 years in jail, including three years of hard labour, the source said, meaning she could spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Suu Kyi had previously been convicted of multiple offenses, including electoral fraud and receiving bribes, according to sources.
She had denied all of the charges levied against her and her lawyers had said they are politically motivated.
Myanmar's former democratically-elected leader had been under house arrest since a military ousted her government in a coup in February 2021.
The court found Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of corruption pertaining to buying, repair and rental of a helicopter for use during natural disasters and state affairs, including rescues and emergencies.
Aung San Suu Kyi now faces an overall jail term of 33 years in prison, including three years of hard labor.
Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in solitary confinement at a prison in Naypyidaw and her trials have taken place behind closed doors, as per the news report. Previously, Aung San Suu Kyi has been convicted of multiple offences, including electoral fraud and receiving bribes.
She has denied all the charges registered against her and her lawyers have claimed that all these cases are politically motivated. Notably, the Myanmar military detained Aung San Suu Kyi after the Myanmar military seized control of the country in February 2021, which prompted nationwide protests.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in its resolution passed on the Southeast Asian country urged the military junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint.
The UNSC called for Myanmar's Junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi as it adopted its first-ever resolution on the situation in the Southeast Asian country. The 15-member Council has been split on Myanmar for decades and was previously only able to agree on formal statements about the country, which has been under military rule since February 2021.
Twelve members of the UN Security Council voted in favour of the resolution demanding an immediate end to violence in Myanmar, while China, Russia and India abstained. US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said this resolution only represents a step toward ending the bloodshed, adding that ''much more must be done."
