Myanmar army orders arrest of seven prominent backers of anti-coup protests
- Activist Min Ko Naing is one of the leading figures in encouraging the protests and a civil disobedience movement
- The UN’s top human rights body passed a resolution urging military leaders to free Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian government leaders
People should inform the police if they spot any of the seven people named and will be punished if they shelter them, the army’s True News information team said in a statement.
Three wounded in police firing as Myanmar protests intensify
It said cases had been filed under section 505 (b) of the penal code – which was often used by previous juntas and imposes a sentence of up to two years for comments that could cause alarm or “threaten tranquillity”.
On Friday, he had warned against a wave of night-time arrests and urged communities to organise to prevent them.
“Elders and youths should cooperate and keep in touch,” he said in a video message.
Reuters was not immediately able to reach him for comment.
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Thousands in Myanmar take to traditional boats in protest against military coup
HUNDREDS ARRESTED
Others with warrants against them included “Jimmy” Kyaw Min Yu – also a veteran of the 1988 student uprising – singer “Lin Lin” Htwe Lin Ko and Myo Yan Naung Thein, a political analyst, and Maung Maung Aye, an NLD-supporting television presenter, and writer Insein Aung Soe.
“I am so proud to have a warrant issued along with Min Ko Naing. Catch me if you can,” said the last, Ei Pencilo, to her more than 1.6 million followers on Facebook.
Like several of those named, she worked with Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide in a November election the army alleged to be tainted with fraud – an accusation dismissed by the electoral commission.
The junta also suspended privacy laws requiring court orders for detaining people longer than 24 hours and for searching private property and surveillance.
“Sections 5, 7, and 8 of the law protecting the privacy and security of the citizens are suspended,” a statement signed by military leader Min Aung Hlaing said. It gave no specific time period.
The United Nations human rights office said on Friday more than 350 people have been arrested in Myanmar since the coup by army chief Min Aung Hlaing.
Journalist Shwe Yee Win, who had reported on opposition to the coup in the western town of Pathein, was taken away by police and soldiers on Thursday and has not been heard from since, her TimeAyeyar news website and her mother said.
“I am really worried,” said Thein Thein, now looking after her daughter’s one-year-old child.
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The government did not respond to requests for comment.
Anger in Myanmar has been fuelled by videos showing more arrests of government critics – including a doctor who was part of the civil disobedience movement. Some arrests have taken place during the hours of darkness.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners voiced concern.
“Family members are left with no knowledge of the charges, location, or condition of their loved ones. These are not isolated incidents, and night-time raids are targeting dissenting voices,” it said in a statement.
Suu Kyi, for decades the standard bearer of the fight for democracy in Myanmar, faces charges of illegally importing and using six walkie-talkie radios.
NLD press officer Kyi Toe said on Facebook that she was healthy under house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw.
The coup and detentions have prompted anger from Western countries and the 47-member UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Friday calling on Myanmar to release detainees an refrain from using violence against protesters.
The United States this week began imposing sanctions on the ruling generals and some businesses linked to them.
Airline staff, health workers, engineers and schoolteachers were among groups that joined the protest marches on Saturday and that have rallied to a civil disobedience campaign that has shut down a swathe of government business.
A group of protesters gathered outside the Singapore embassy in Yangon to urge banks to stop dealing with military-linked banks.
