NDF leaders banned from polls for ‘treason’ prepare appeal

Tuesday, 03 August 2010 17:08 Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese junta’s electoral watchdog has warned the party that split from the National League for Democracy that four members of its central executive committee were ineligible to stand in the forthcoming national elections because of alleged past acts of treason. It is preparing to submit an appeal letter to the poll watchdog, a party leader has said.

The Union Election Commission (UEC) chairman Than Soe in Naypyidaw named four National Democratic Force (NDF) top panel members: vice-chairman Tin Aung Aung, central executive committee member Tha Saing, political leading committee chief Khin Maung Swe and political leading committee member Than Soe, as subject to the ban as they were charged under Sections 121, 122, 124 of the Penal Code with high treason in 1990, central executive committee member Khin Maung Swe said.

“The UEC told us to submit an appeal letter to its chairman … so we have discussed the case with our lawyers but we’ve not yet fixed a date”, Khin Maung Swe said.

“The electoral commission told us that if we submitted the letter … the commission would review it and pass it to a superior authority”, Khin Maung Swe said. “We have already served long prison sentences on [the treason] charges, but the warning said we were never allowed to stand in polls.”

The four former NLD MPs were charged with acts of high treason against the state by allegedly attempting to force the current junta’s precursor, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), to transfer power by establishing a parallel government after the NLD had a landslide win in nationwide elections in 1990.

After Khin Maung Swe had served approximately two years of his 10-year jail term, he was released under an amnesty set forth in Order 11/92. However, after two years he was rearrested and charged under section 5(j) and was sentenced to seven years in prison. His amnesty was revoked requiring him to also serve the remainder of his previous 10-year prison sentence. He was detained 16 years and six months during in his second imprisonment.

Section 121 defines high treason against the state and section 122 states that anyone who commits such treason will be sentenced to death or a life term. Section 124 defines the concealment of the high treason against the state, according to a jurist in Rangoon, the former Burmese capital.