U.S.‑Syracuse‑Style Take on Myanmar’s Latest Corruption Drama
Just when you thought Myanmar’s political circus could’t get any wilder, the state‑run Global New Light of Myanmar announced on Thursday (June 10) that fresh corruption charges have been slapped on former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other ex‑officials. It’s a continuation of the tennis‑match between the military and the democratically‑elected government that kicked off on Feb. 1, when the army seized power in a coup that has left the country in a real‑life Kabuki: chaos, protests, and a dash of dangerous fireworks.
What’s on the docket?
- Misusing land for the charitable Daw Khin Kyi Foundation – a nonprofit that Suu Kyi once chaired.
- Earlier accusations of pocketing money and, bizarrely, gold.
- Recent “all‑in‑all” charges from police stations in Naypyidaw, the capital’s very own “Garden of Secrets.”
The Anti‑Corruption Commission says Aung San Suu Kyi “was found guilty of committing corruption using her rank.” The article claims she’s faced the full weapon of the law under Section 55, which can lock her up for up to 15 years. Wow, talk about a prison sentence detective story!
Speakers are “politically motivated”?
Her devoted supporters are already shouting that these lawsuits are nothing but a legal Smack‑down orchestrated by the junta. Past cases have included the “illegal possession of walkie‑talkie radios” – because apparently the military had it in the rear‑view mirror— and a breech of the Official Secrets Act. Mother nature will yield for such paradoxes where the military claims election fraud, yet international watchdogs and the former election commission had a sharp “no, thank you” response.
Bottom line – No lawyers, no comments.
Reuters tried to get a word from Suu Kyi’s legal squad but couldn’t get them to talk. It’s like trying to talk to a mime—full of silence.
The current hang‑out? A showdown
Since the coup, the army’s grip has crumbled under the weight of daily protests, labor strikes wounding the economy, assassinations that feel like a bad thriller, bombings, and a re‑emergent conflict at Myanmar’s bordering fronts. The jumbled situation makes it hard to wish any party a good baseball season. The football match, however, feels more like a game of dodgeball – where everybody’s trying to stay out of the blast zone.
