Security increased for Suu Kyi after ISIS threat
The Myanmar government is stepping up security for State Counselor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi after her name appeared on a list sent by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group to police in Malaysia, a government spokesman said on August 3.
Her name was listed along with those of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia’s attorney general, inspector general of police and three ministers. The list was sent to a police station in the town of Nilai in Negeri Sembilan state on the western coast of peninsular Malaysia just south of Kuala Lumpur, according to Malaysian media reports.
“We can’t underestimate it. We will take this matter seriously and will increase security during her local and international tours,” said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the President’s Office.
“We have to be very careful and work on checking, investigating, and preparing [additional] security,” he added.
Reports stated that the two-page letter entitled “IS threat” included photographs of the targeted leaders and claimed there were about 700 ISIS militants in Sembilan. Malaysian police have dismissed the claim. Malaysian police are trying to identify the sender, while forensics experts are examining the letter.
The Myanmar government provides its state VIPs with four types of security in the form of bodyguards, close protection, executive protection, and escorts, Zaw Htay said.
Myanmar’s Muslim minority group is often the target of hate speech and other forms of persecution in the predominantly Buddhist country. About 120,000 Rohingya Muslims currently live in camps in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state following communal violence between them and Buddhists in 2012.
The Myanmar government is stepping up security for State Counselor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi after her name appeared on a list sent by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group to police in Malaysia, a government spokesman said on August 3. Her name was listed along with those of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia's attorney general, inspector general of police and three ministers. The list was sent to a police station in the town of Nilai in Negeri Sembilan state on the western coast of peninsular...
The Myanmar government is stepping up security for State Counselor and Foreign Affairs Minister Aung San Suu Kyi after her name appeared on a list sent by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group to police in Malaysia, a government spokesman said on August 3.
Her name was listed along with those of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia’s attorney general, inspector general of police and three ministers. The list was sent to a police station in the town of Nilai in Negeri Sembilan state on the western coast of peninsular Malaysia just south of Kuala Lumpur, according to Malaysian media reports.
“We can’t underestimate it. We will take this matter seriously and will increase security during her local and international tours,” said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the President’s Office.
“We have to be very careful and work on checking, investigating, and preparing [additional] security,” he added.
Reports stated that the two-page letter entitled “IS threat” included photographs of the targeted leaders and claimed there were about 700 ISIS militants in Sembilan. Malaysian police have dismissed the claim. Malaysian police are trying to identify the sender, while forensics experts are examining the letter.
The Myanmar government provides its state VIPs with four types of security in the form of bodyguards, close protection, executive protection, and escorts, Zaw Htay said.
Myanmar’s Muslim minority group is often the target of hate speech and other forms of persecution in the predominantly Buddhist country. About 120,000 Rohingya Muslims currently live in camps in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state following communal violence between them and Buddhists in 2012.
