Burma’s new military regime today issued arrest warrants for several social activists advocating nationwide anti-coup demonstrations and warned people not to harbor political activists. Local human rights monitoring groups said nearly 400 people have been arrested so far.
Most of Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military overthrew the democratically elected government and arrested substantive leader Ung San Suu Kyi in a coup d’état on the first of this month.
health workers are at the forefront of the campaign, and security forces are stepping up arrests of physicians and activists.
AFP reports that Burmese police are hunting for seven pro-democracy activists, some of whom are well-known, including Min Ko Naing, who led the 1988 demonstrations against totalitarianism.
Min Ko Naing, then a university student, helped lead protests against the then totalitarian system and spent more than 10 years in prison for doing so.
The state-run media announced today: “If you find any of the above-mentioned fugitives or have information about them, report them immediately to the nearest police station. If you take them in at will, you will be punished according to the law.”
Despite the military government’s blocking of social media Facebook, Min Ko Naing managed to upload a video yesterday in which he said, “They usually launch arrests at night, so we have to be careful.” A few hours later, the military issued an arrest warrant for him.
Ung San Suu Kyi’s whereabouts have been unknown since his arrest by the military on January 1. The Myanmar Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that nearly 400 people, including many of her political allies, are behind bars.
Hundreds of people returned to the streets of Yangon today to demonstrate, many holding signs calling on authorities to “stop kidnapping people at night. Thousands of people also took to the streets of Myanmar’s major cities to protest against the coup for the ninth day in a row.
Buddhist monks gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon yesterday to chant sutras and pray for blessings and protection from harm. One monk said, “We want them to know that the majority of the people in Burma are anti-military.”
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