Charges have been dropped against 55 people in Kayah State who have held protests against the construction of a new statue of independence leader General Aung San in the state. According to a report in The Irrawaddy, Khun A Than, a member of local civil society group Karenni Youth Force, said that all charges had been dropped related to alleged defamation, as well as the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law. “We don’t need to give thanks for the charges being dropped, the youths didn’t do anything they should be charged for,” Khun A Than was quoted as saying. “They were charged unnecessarily by the state government, which wants to oppress them”. The state government has been planning to construct a statue of Aung San in Loikaw, since last year. However, many local people have protested against the move. The reason is because his promise of a federal union has still not been fulfilled. Aung San is the father of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and was assassinated shortly before the country gained independence from the British in 1948. More talks are expected between members of a committee on the statues and local civil society leaders regarding the planned statue.