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Myanmar Protesters Burn Junta Leader's Images On His Birthday
According to Reuters protesters burned mock coffins and pictures of Myanmar's army ruler Min Aung Hlaing on Saturday in the latest demonstrations against the coup over five months ago that has plunged the Southeast Asian country into chaos. Myanmar
"May you not rest in peace" and "may your birthday and deathday be the same," read the messages on funeral wreaths in Theinzayet township in eastern Mon state. Similar protests took place in many parts of Myanmar.
"We are burning this as a curse," said one protester in the second city of Mandalay, setting ablaze a small pile of picture of the general, 65.
A spokesman for the military authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Min Aung Hlaing took power on Feb. 1, overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and cutting short a decade of democratic reforms that had brought Myanmar out of isolation under previous juntas.
Min Aung Hlaing had been due to retire after his 65th birthday, but the compulsory retirement age was scrapped after the coup. Myanmar
The army says its assumption of powers was in line with the constitution. It alleged fraud in November elections swept by Suu Kyi's party, although the accusations were dismissed by the former electoral body.
The junta has struggled to impose its authority.
Protests take place in many parts of Myanmar almost daily, strikes have hurt official and private business and fighting has flared in the borderlands, sending some 200,000 people fleeing from their homes.
According to figures from a United Nations briefing this week, more than 880 people have been killed by security forces since the coup and more than 5,200 are in detention. Myanmar
Myanmar's foreign ministry disputed the figures in a statement published on Saturday. It described them as "unverifiable facts" but did not give its own estimates for deaths and detentions. Hundreds of prisoners were freed this week.
The ministry also complained that the UN website carried a link to an underground National Unity Government set up by opponents of the junta. Both groups brand each other terrorists. Myanmar
The military takeover has been condemned by Western countries, some of which have imposed limited sanctions.
The United States on Friday added four companies it said support the military to its trade blacklist and imposed sanctions on key military officials. Myanmar
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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
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