Kyauktada Township court says the judgment in the case of holding Karen Martyr’s Day in downtown Yangon in which Naw Ohn Hla and two more Karen youths are charged will be pronounced on October 2.

Accused Naw Ohn Hla and two Karen youths were produced before Kyauktada Township court on September 27 and then the court decided to pronounce judgment on October 2.

Kyauktada Township police station registered a case against Naw Ohn Hla, two Karen youths Sa Thein Zaw Min and Saw Albert Cho, under section 20 of Peaceful Assembly and Marching in Procession Law for holding the 69th Karen Martyr’s Day on August 12 in front of Yangon Town Hall and Maha Bandoola Square.

An accused in this case, Karen Women’s Union Chairperson Naw Ohn Hla, said, “We have already had our stance of non-cooperation with the court. The magistrate asked us if we had anything to say. I replied to the court we had nothing to say and we had already told you we would not be examined in court proceedings and also we would not give argument in this case. Then the court fixed the next hearing on October 2 and the judgment will be pronounced on that day.”

Initially this 69th Karen Martyr’s Day was planned to be held at Magway Priyatti monastery but Yangon Region government issued a letter to ban organizing this event in the name of Karen Martyr’s Day but the organizers of this event decided to go ahead and held this ceremony under this title.

Karen National Union (KNU) central committee member Pado Mahn Nyein Maung said, “This matter is very much significant for us. As for all Karen people, seeing a Karen is in trouble is the same with all ethnic Karen people are in trouble. Doing this work by Naw Ohn Hla is doing on behalf of all ethnic Karen nationality in observing a significant historical day of our Karen people. We would like to ask a question to the government. This case will have much impact on the ongoing peace process, national reconciliation, confidence building and general harmony. By doing like this, not only ethnic Karen people, but also all other ethnic nationalities have much distrust and scepticism in the government.”

Some Karen people peacefully marched in procession from Maha Bandoola Square to Kyauktada Township court on September 27 in the morning demanding the release of the people being detained in this case.

They staged protest demonstration in front of Kyauktada Township court by holding placards and banners with the demands of ‘give genuine peace’, ‘immediately release Naw Ohn Hla, Saw Albert Cho and Sa Thein Zaw Min’, ‘give equal rights to ethnic nationalities’, and ‘stop oppression against ethnic people’.