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WORLD NEWS Diamars 3 mei 2022

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi charged with bribery as new trial opens

(AP) — Ousted Myan- did not specify. Under Suu
mar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, Maung
Kyi went on trial Monday Weik won a major develop-
in a new corruption case ment project that included
against her, alleging she the construction of houses,
took $550,000 in bribes restaurants, hospitals, eco-
from a construction mag- nomic zones, port and hotel
nate. zones in Myanmar’s central
Mandalay region.
She is charged with two
counts under the country’s Maung Weik, as chairman
the Anti-Corruption Act, of a property development
with each count punishable company, was close to some
by up to 15 years in prison of the generals in power dur-
and a fine. ing a previous military-run
government. He was sen-
Suu Kyi has been detained tenced to 15 years in prison in
since the army ousted her 2008 for drug trafficking and
elected government in Feb- was released in 2014 under a
ruary 2021 and has not been semi-democratic transitional
seen or allowed to speak in government led by former
public since then. She is be- generals. After his release, he
ing tried in closed sessions returned to doing business
and her lawyers cannot speak with former generals.
publicly on her behalf or tion. trafficking. State television ruary the official charges that
about her trial because of a under control of the military Suu Kyi in her position as Overall, Suu Kyi has been
gag order placed on them. But widespread resistance to government last year showed state counsellor — the coun- charged with 12 counts of
the army’s takeover has re- a video in which Maung Weik try’s de facto chief executive corruption. She was convict-
She has already been sen- sulted in what some U.N. claimed to have given cash — received $550,000 in four ed last week on one corrup-
tenced to 11 years’ imprison- experts have characterized as payoffs to government min- installments in 2019-2020 tion charge and given a five-
ment after being convicted of a civil war, challenging the isters to help his businesses. “to facilitate the business ac- year prison sentence after
illegally importing and pos- military’s ability to govern. tivities of a private entrepre- being found guilty of receiv-
sessing walkie-talkies, violat- Ye Htet, an official from the neur.” ing $600,000 and seven gold
ing coronavirus restrictions, Monday’s opening of Suu Anti-Corruption Commis- bars from Phyo Min Thein,
sedition and another corrup- Kyi’ latest trial was confirmed sion who is a plaintiff in the Maung Weik in his state- the former chief minister of
tion charge. by a legal official, who spoke case, gave testimony in Mon- ments in state media last year Yangon, the country’s biggest
on condition of anonymity day’s proceedings, said the said he gave the money from city.
Suu Kyi’s supporters and hu- because he was not autho- legal official, who said pay- 2018 to 2020. He said in his
man rights groups have said rized to release information. ments Maung Weik made in video that the money includ- Her lawyers are trying to
the cases against her are an 2019 and 2020 were being ed $100,000 provided to Suu overturn the verdict in an ap-
attempt to discredit her and In this latest case, she is ac- treated as separate counts. Kyi in 2018 for a charitable peal to the Supreme Court
legitimize the military’s sei- cused of receiving money in foundation named after her on technical grounds, saying
zure of power, eliminating 2019 and 2020 from Maung The Global New Light of mother and also gave Suu Kyi the case should not have been
the possibility of her taking Weik, a tycoon who previ- Myanmar, a state-controlled $450,000 in payments from heard. If that is rejected, they
part in a possible 2023 elec- ously was convicted of drug newspaper, reported in Feb- 2019 to 2020 for purposes he can still make another appeal.

French Greens, far-left party in deal before June elections

(AP) — France’s Greens Mélenchon’s third-place fin- tion. Some have publicly de- that France should “disobey” market regulations.
and the party of far-left ish in April with 22% of the nounced Mélenchon’s views EU rules, including free-
leader Jean-Luc Mélen- vote in the first round of vot-
chon reached an agree- ing gave him leverage in try-
ment Monday to join forc- ing to rally other parties on
es against newly reelected the left behind him for the
President Emmanuel legislative vote.
Macron ahead of next
month’s parliamentary Under the deal that his party
election. struck on Monday with the
Greens, the environmental
Both parties agreed not to party will field candidates in
compete against each other 100 districts where Melen-
in the two rounds of voting chon’s party won’t run, so
on June 12 and 19. they don’t compete against
each other. The Greens
Mélenchon leads the La agreed that if the coalition
France Insoumise (France wins a parliamentary major-
Unbowed) party and he came ity, then they’d back Melen-
in third in the first round chon as prime minister.
of last month’s presidential
election. He is now hoping The Communist and Social-
for a comeback in the up- ist parties also appear close
coming legislative elections to a deal with Melenchon’s
as the head of what he hopes party.
will be a coalition of leftist
parties who have spent the Socialists, however, have
past five years in Macron’s been deeply divided about
shadow. whether to also join the coali-