YANGON – A key aide to Myanmar’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested today, days after a coup that sparked outrage and calls by United States President Joe Biden for generals to relinquish power.
The arrest came after the streets of Myanmar’s biggest city were filled for a third night with the sound of people banging pots and honking car horns, voicing their opposition to the coup.
The military seized power on Monday, detaining Suu Kyi and President Win Myint as it ended the country’s 10-year dalliance with democracy that had followed decades of oppressive junta rule.
Win Htein, considered Suu Kyi’s right-hand man, “was arrested from his daughter’s house, where he was staying, at midnight (here)”, said Kyi Toe, a press officer for the National League of Democracy (NLD).
The 79-year-old NLD stalwart is a long-time political prisoner, who has spent lengthy stretches in and out of detention for campaigning against military rule.
Ahead of his arrest, Win Htein told local English-language media that the military putsch is “not wise”, and that its leaders “have taken (the country) in the wrong direction”.
“Everyone in the country should oppose as much as they can the actions they are seeking to take us back to zero by destroying our government,” he told Frontier Myanmar in the coup’s aftermath.
Suu Kyi has not been seen in public since Monday.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a Yangon-based group that monitors political arrests in Myanmar, more than 130 officials and lawmakers have been detained in relation to the coup.
Telecoms providers in the country have also been ordered to throttle Facebook, the main means of accessing the internet and communication for millions of people in Myanmar.
With Facebook stifled, more residents have moved to Twitter in recent days or started using VPN services to bypass the blockade.
Hashtags opposing the coup, including #HearTheVoiceofMyanmar and #RespectOurVotes, are trending on Twitter in Myanmar today, with more than seven million posts citing them.
A so-called Civil Disobedience Movement has gathered steam online, calling on the public to voice opposition every night by banging pots and clanging cymbals to show their anger.
So far, no large-scale protests have happened, though small pockets of dissent have popped up, with doctors choosing to wear ribbons in red, which is NLD’s colour.
About 70 NLD lawmakers yesterday convened at their compound in Naypyidaw, signing a pledge that they will serve the duty of the people.
Also yesterday, Biden reiterated his call for Myanmar’s generals to reverse course.
“The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions in telecommunications, and refrain from violence.” – AFP, February 5, 2021
