Description
Added on the 25/07/2022 14:10:41 - Copyright : France 24 EN
So far, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has won two thirds of the seats in Myanmar's lower house of the parliament in the country's historic elections. But even with a victory Myanmar laws do not allow Suu Kyi to become president.
Hopes of a return to democracy in junta-ruled Myanmar are being crushed by "systematic repression", United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday at a summit in Indonesia with the United States, China and regional leaders. SOUNDBITE
Myanmar's junta pardoned more than 2,000 political prisoners to mark a Buddhist holiday, with families rushing to prisons for tearful reunions with loved ones jailed in a sweeping crackdown on dissent. IMAGES
Streets in Yangon are empty as Myanmar marks the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government. Activists called for people across the country to close businesses and stay indoors from 10 am (0330 GMT) to 4 pm. Roads leading to the famous Shwedagon pagoda -- a Buddhist shrine that dominates Yangon's skyline and is usually thronged by worshippers -- were largely deserted. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military's power grab and bloody crackdown on dissent, which has sparked fighting across swathes of the country and tanked the economy. IMAGES
Protestors gather outside the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok on the second anniversary of the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government. Western powers launched a fresh broadside of sanctions against the Myanmar generals on the anniversary, but previous rounds have shown little sign of throwing the junta off course. IMAGES
Russian president Vladimir Putin meets with Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing on Wednesday for economic talks at the Eastern Economic Forum in the city of Vladivostok. IMAGES