No appeals against convictions in Myanmar’s tough new measures

Yangon:

Myanmar’s junta has introduced tough new measures in resistance bastions under which people accused of sedition and “spreading false news” will be tried by a military court, state media said on Friday.

In the 37 townships affected by the measures, no appeals will be allowed for sentences handed down by military tribunals, with the exception of the death penalty, which must be approved by junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, according to the government-run Global New Light . Myanmar newspapers.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, and a subsequent crackdown on dissent has sparked fighting in many parts of the country.

The latest announcement signals that the junta is looking for new ways to end resistance in areas where anti-coup fighters are active.

The Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the expansion was done “to exercise more effective initiatives to ensure security, rule of law and local peace and tranquility”.

Under the new measures, military tribunals will hear criminal cases ranging from high treason to a ban on “spreading false news”, which the military has used to jail dozens of journalists.

The 37 townships are located in eight states and territories – Sagaing, Chin, Magway, Bago, Mon, Karen, Taninthayi and Kayah.

Junta troops have regularly clashed with anti-coup “People’s Defense Forces” as well as established ethnic rebel groups in those areas.

At least 11 other townships – six in commercial hub Yangon and five in second city Mandalay – were already under similar laws.

The decision came a day after state media announced a six-month extension of the state of emergency, delaying elections promised to be held until August.

In comments reported by state media on Wednesday, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing acknowledged that no more than a third of the country’s townships are under full military control.

More than 2,900 people have been killed and more than 17,000 arrested in the army’s crackdown on dissent, according to a local monitoring group.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)