Three antiwar activists were charged with criminal defamation on Wednesday for leading a protest in Myitkyina during which they called on the Myanmar government to rescue civilians displaced by hostilities between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar forces, bringing the total number of demonstrators charged nationwide to 45, RFA reported.
About 5,000 people protested in Myitkyina on April 30, demanding that the government provide assistance to residents who fled their homes and were trapped in forests with no food or water amid the fighting.
Lwan Zaung and Zaw Jet, two of the three activists charged, appeared in Myitkyina Township Court during their first hearing on charges of violating Article 500 of the country’s Penal Code.