Irrawaddy-Mar 30
US President Joe Biden and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong jointly called for the release of all political detainees in Myanmar, including State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint, as well as foreign detainees, in a statement released after talks at the White House. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint have been detained by the military regime since it ousted Myanmar’s democratically elected government in a coup on Feb. 1 last year. The junta has kept their whereabouts secret and hit them with multiple charges as a justification for continuing to hold them. They are among a large number of officials of the ousted civilian government at the Union and state/regional levels, as well as elected lawmakers and activists, who have been in detention since the first day of the coup.
Biden and Lee shared their deep concerns about the situation in Myanmar, which has been in political turmoil since the coup, according to the statement. The two leaders called on Myanmar’s junta to end its violence against civilians in the country, allow unhindered humanitarian access and return the country to the path of democratic transition. The leaders said the crisis after the coup has reversed years of economic progress in Myanmar and increased the risk of illicit finance. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/us-singapore-leaders-urge-myanmar-junta-to-free-political-detainees.html
