Myanmar activist arrested in junta raid — wife
BANGKOK, Thailand — An activist who rose to prominence during Myanmar's 1988 student uprising has been arrested in an overnight raid, his wife said Sunday, in the latest blow to the anti-junta movement as the military cracks down on dissent.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the generals ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a February coup, triggering nationwide protests that have seen more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according to a local monitoring group.
Junta opponents — including allies of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party and activists — have gone into hiding across the country, while some villagers have taken up arms, forming local militias to defend themselves.
On Saturday evening, 52-year-old Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, was arrested when soldiers raided a housing complex in the North Dagon township of Yangon.
"He was staying in a safe house together with two other activists who escaped from the back door," his wife Nilar Thein told AFP, adding that police had not informed her of his whereabouts.
Nilar Thein and Ko Jimmy are part of the so-called 88 Generation movement that challenged Myanmar's previous military government.
They also played a major role in anti-government protests in 2007 — nicknamed the "Saffron Revolution" for the participation of orange-robed monks.
The couple have been in and out of prison for their activism.
Ko Jimmy's last stint behind bars was from 2007 to 2012. He was released as the generals loosened their grip to start opening up Myanmar in preparation for 2015 elections.
After the February 1 putsch this year, the junta issued an arrest warrant for him, alleging he had incited unrest with his social media posts.
Another 88 Generation member, Ko Ko Gyi, confirmed Ko Jimmy's arrest, expressing worry for him and his family.
Causing 'further division'
While the couple are intimately aware of the dangers of activism in Myanmar, Nilar Thein said the situation is "riskier" under the current regime, which has dubbed itself the State Administration Council.
"I am afraid that I won't see him alive" again, she said, adding that she was afraid to go to the police for fear of her own arrest.
"I urge the international community to keep their eyes (on the situation) to save the lives of Myanmar people."
Groups including the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which tracks arrests under the regime, have alleged that torture has taken place during the interrogation of dissidents.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews on Friday raised alarm about troops amassing in the country's north, warning the international community to be prepared for "more mass atrocity crimes".
But the junta rejected Andrews' report, accusing the UN of causing "further division among (the) nation and incitement to internal violence", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Sunday.
The junta has repeatedly justified its power seizure by alleging widespread fraud in last year's elections, which Suu Kyi's party won in a landslide.
Follow this thread for updates on the situation in Myanmar, where a coup may be happening after de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials have reportedly been detained by the military.
Photo: Military officers wearing facemasks who serve as members of Myanmar's parliament leave after a session at the Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) in Naypyidaw on March 10, 2020. AFP/Ye Aung Thu
Myanmar's junta is endangering the life of jailed democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, her political party says on Thursday, accusing the military of depriving her of medical care and food.
Suu Kyi has been detained since the generals seized power in February 2021, ending a 10-year democratic experiment and plunging the Southeast Asian country into bloody turmoil.
In recent days, local media have reported the Nobel laureate, 78, was suffering dizzy spells, vomiting and unable to eat because of a tooth infection. — AFP
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi will be pardoned, state media says.
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
The United States is "deeply concerned" by the decision from Myanmar's ruling junta to extend the country's state of emergency for six months, a State Department spokesman says.
The extension, announced earlier in the day, spelled a delay for elections the military had pledged to hold in August as it battles anti-coup fighters across the country.
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Burma military regime's extension of the state of emergency, which comes as the regime plunges the country deeper into violence and instability," says spokesman Matthew Miller, using an alternate name for the country. — AFP
Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan says that conditions were not yet right for ASEAN to open high-level talks with Myanmar on the country's political situation.
"We believe it would be premature to re-engage with the junta at a summit level or even at a foreign minister level," Balakrishnan says when asked about a news report that Thailand had proposed talks.
Speaking in a joint press conference in Washington with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Balakrishnan said the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had recently reaffirmed their stance. — AFP
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