Protesters salute three fingers during a protest against the military coup in Dawei, Myanmar, on April 13, 2021. Courtesy of Dawei Watch / via REUTERS
Myanmar security forces on Thursday arrested one of the main leaders of the campaign against the military government after attacking him with a car while leading a protest rally against the motorcycle, friends and colleagues said.
Opponents of the February 1 coup that ousted an elected government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, have maintained their campaign against the military this traditional New Year’s week with marches and several other samples of challenge.
“Our brother Wai Moe Naing was arrested. His motorbike was hit by an unmarked police car,” Win Zaw Khiang, a member of a protest organizing group, said on social media.
Wai Moe Naing, a 25-year-old Muslim, has emerged as one of the most prominent opposition leaders in the coup.
Earlier, Reuters spoke to him on the phone as he began directing the rally in the central city of Monywa, about 700 km north of the main city of Yangon.
The video posted on social media showed a car moving towards a group of motorcycles.
A board spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Monywa has been one of the main centers of the pro-democracy campaign, with large rallies day after day and repeated crackdowns by security forces.
Some colleagues said they feared for the safety of Wai Moe Naing.
The Swedish embassy said it was following its case and urged all detainees to receive adequate health care and respect their human rights.
The U.S. embassy also condemned the reported incident.
“This horrific act further demonstrates why the people of Myanmar do not accept the military regime,” the embassy said in a Twitter post.
MEDICAL PROTESTATION
In Yangon, security forces arrested Myo Aye, director of Myanmar’s solidarity union, activist Ei Thinzar Maung told Facebook. Myo Aye has also played an important role in organizing the protests.
State media said a famous actor, Zin Wine, and singer Po Po, both known for their support of the democratic movement, had also been arrested.
The coup has put Myanmar in crisis after ten years of temporary steps towards democracy, with, in addition to daily protests, strikes by workers in many sectors that have stopped the economy.
An activist group, the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners, says security forces have killed 715 protesters since the overthrow of Suu Kyi’s government.
Earlier on Thursday, soldiers opened fire in the city of Mandalay to disperse protesting medical workers and one man was killed and several were injured when security forces fired on a nearby neighborhood, media reported.
Some medical workers have been at the forefront of the campaign against the coup, which for many has erased hope for a more open society after temporary steps towards democracy since the military began reforms. a decade ago.
State television announced that 20 doctors were among the 40 people wanted under a law that makes it illegal to encourage rioting or relinquishing duty to security forces. About 200 people are now wanted under the charge.
The military says protests are slowing, but thousands of people joined protest marches and motorcycle rallies in several cities, according to media images.
The United States and other Western countries have imposed limited army-centered sanctions and called for the release of Suu Kyi and others detained by the new authorities.
Southeast Asian neighborhood leaders, who have tried to encourage talks between Myanmar’s rival parties, will meet in Indonesia on April 24 to discuss the situation, Thai PBS World reported.
The senior general of the head of the Board, Min Aung Hlaing, should attend, the station said, what would be his first known trip abroad and contact with foreign leaders since he took power.
Our standards: the principles of trust of Thomson Reuters.