Facebook post threatens to kill Aung San Suu Kyi

06 February 2016
Facebook post threatens to kill Aung San Suu Kyi
Facebook post photo that accompanied the threat to Aung San Suu Kyi. The original post was taken down and the account deactivated. Photo: Facebook

Myanmar Facebook users are reportedly shocked by a Facebook post that threatened to kill Aung San Suu Kyi if she were to become president.
The Facebook post that went up under the name of Ye Lwin Myint two days ago, said if Article 59(f) of the 2008 Constitution was amended to smooth the path to a Suu Kyi presidency, the poster would shoot the National League for Democracy leader with a sniper rifle or another kind of firearm “after a month of practice.”
The poster said he was planning to start a Facebook group called “Those dying to assassinate Daw Suu,” and that he had been sleeping with a rifle since he was 10 years old. The post included a photo of two men posing with assault rifles, one said to be Ye Lwin Myint.
Article 59(f) prevents those with close relatives who are foreigners from taking up the presidency. Aung San Suu Kyi was married to the late British historian Michael Aris and has two sons who have British nationality.
The Facebook post was quickly taken down, after angry responses, but not before people had copied the post, including translating it into English.
The Facebook account is now either deactivated or deleted.
One Facebook user said that because of the anger and furor over the post, Myanmar Facebook users have captured screenshots and have reposted the post online.
According to this user, Ye Lwin Myint claims his Facebook account was hacked, denying he was behind the threat.
An unconfirmed source said that Ye Lwin Myint’s father is a former military attaché, who is now the Lieutenant Commander-XO of the Southern Regional Military Command, based in Taungoo.
This Facebook user said attorney U Robert Sann Aung was reportedly “working hard to seek justice” but no charges have been brought against Ye Lwin Myint, and that the South Okkalar Police Department had been alerted.
“All the same, it is advisable that security personnel for the Burmese Nobel Laureate be alerted and well-prepared to repel those cowards' actions,” the Facebook poster said.