The Myanmar construction tycoon spoke in a monotonous, wavering tone, blinking rapidly and swallowing occasionally. He said that in recent years he has handed over a total of $ 550,000 to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader who was overthrown by a military coup last month.
On two occasions, he provided $ 100,000 and $ 150,000, the businessman said in a confessional statement broadcast on a military television network on Wednesday night. In English subtitles, the money was delivered in a “black envelope”. In Burmese, the description said that he presented the money, intended to improve his business ties, in a paper gift bag.
In any case, the envelope or gift bag would be too big to hold so much money.
The televised statement from U Maung Weik, a military comrade who has already been arrested for drug trafficking, appears to be the last act in an intricately planned effort to challenge Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.
Before the November elections, an online campaign augmented by pro-military groups raised a litany of unproven allegations against the civilian leader, who shared power with the military for five years. After her party won a landslide victory, the military forces stepped up their attacks, calling it corrupt and under the influence of foreigners.
Then, after the military staged its February 1 coup, security forces arrested individuals who had been named months before as key members of a foreign plot, blessed by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, to destabilize Myanmar. The chronology suggests a well-planned effort to rid the country of its most beloved leader.
“We have seen his attempt to arrest Daw Aung San Suu Kyi since before the election,” said U Khin Maung Zaw, his lawyer. He has not been able to see his client nor has he received a power of attorney so he can formally deal with her legal affairs.
Days before the November elections, coordinated attacks on social media accused Aung San Suu Kyi and his ruling National League for Democracy from illegally profiting from foreign funding. If the National League for Democracy is found guilty of being contaminated by foreign influence, the party could be dissolved, neutralizing the most popular political force in Myanmar’s history.
The targeted campaign – disseminated on Facebook, YouTube, a personalized website and fake emails that shared similar brands and cross-posting – implied that a conspiracy of Western interests was working with the National League for Democracy to steal the elections and topple governance of Myanmar. The customized website was developed from a folder named after the military’s proxy party, a digital forensic investigation found.
Among the alleged conspirators was George Soros, the American philanthropist whose Open Society Foundation promotes democracy around the world.
One of the pre-election posts claimed that the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, a charitable group created on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi’s mother, was working secretly with the Open Society Foundation to destabilize Myanmar.
The implications of the attack on social media have become clearer this month. Mr. Maung Weik, the construction tycoon, stated on the television broadcast on Wednesday that he had donated money to charity. Last week, the military accused Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi of embezzling some money from the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation. At least two employees of the charity have been detained in recent weeks.
On Monday, the same military-controlled television network that broadcast Maung Weik’s statement announced that arrest warrants had been issued against 11 Myanmar Open Society officials for helping the anti-coup protest movement with, among other things, illegal bank transactions. The group’s financial manager was arrested.
The Open Society Myanmar denied having acted illegally by withdrawing funds from its own local bank account.
Another pre-election social media attack pointed the finger at a deputy minister of industry, a deputy minister of finance and an Australian economic consultant to Aung San Suu Kyi, censoring them for machinations to control the country. After the military deposed the civilian government last month, the three were arrested.
The seizure of power by the military galvanized tremendous resistance from the people of Myanmar. Since the coup, millions of people have demonstrated and participated in labor strikes against the regime.
The military responded with the kind of violence normally reserved for the battlefield. In attacks on protesters, security forces killed at least 215 people, mostly by gunshots, according to a local group that accounts for political arrests and deaths; more than 2,000 people have been detained for political reasons since the coup.
This week, members of a group representing the dissolved parliament were accused of high treason. The same happened with Myanmar’s envoy to the United Nations, who gave a passionate speech last month condemning the military’s seizure of power.
On Wednesday, the last of Myanmar’s leading independent newspapers stopped being published. More than 30 journalists have been detained or harassed by the authorities since the coup. The country, for decades under military control, is rapidly losing any democratic reforms that have been introduced in recent years.
Since Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested in a pre-dawn operation on the day of the coup, she has been formally charged with several crimes that could result in her being imprisoned for years. The charges include esoteric crimes, such as illegal importation of foreign walkie-talkies and violation of coronavirus regulations.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has not yet been charged in connection with Mr. Maung Weik’s accusations that he gave her money to improve her business relationship with the civilian government. The military television network said investigators are investigating the case.
Last week, the military also accused her of illegally accepting 25 pounds of gold and about $ 600,000. Mr. Maung Weik’s money transfer charges are separate from this figure.
If the charges are made in any of these cases, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, could face life imprisonment.
“I believe 100 percent that his accusations against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are unfounded,” said U Aung Kyi Nyunt, a spokesman for the National League for Democracy.
The popularity of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar far exceeds that of the generals who controlled the country for most of the past 60 years. She spent 15 years under house arrest and won the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to nonviolent resistance.
Although her international reputation waned after she defended the military’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims, her star appeal persisted at home. The electoral performance of the National League for Democracy last year surpassed the defeat of 2015. The military called it a fraud in the polls.
Mr. Khin Maung Zaw, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer, said that by silencing and arresting her, the military regime is in danger of further polishing her popularity.
“They shouldn’t let Daw Aung San Suu Kyi change from hero to martyr,” he said. “If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi becomes a martyr, then the strength of the people will never be destroyed, and their martyrdom will become the greatest strength of the people.”