Burma’s ruling junta has launched a fresh crackdown on activists, arresting 30 dissidents and forcing many others into hiding, according to sources in Rangoon. The move came just days before today’s 14th anniversary of the founding of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
"Thirty activists were arrested on the night of Sept 25," a Rangoon activist told The Irrawaddy today. "When they were arrested at their respective homes, some of their books and leaflets were also confiscated by the military intelligence."
The arrested activists include U Zaw Phay Win, Ko Htay, Ye Kyaw Swa, Hla Htut Soe and Ko Myint. Most are former political detainees.
U Zaw Phay Win is a well-known private teacher in Rangoon who has been repeatedly arrested for his political activities since 1988. Hla Htut Soe is also a former political prisoner who has served a seven-year prison sentence.
"We think that they were arrested because of a political book that may have come from dissident groups overseas," says another source close to the families of the arrested. "So far, however, the families themselves don’t know the reason for the arrests."
The source added that some other political activists, including young members of the NLD, went into hiding soon after news of the arrests began circulating.
The Sept 25 arrests follow a series of similar incidents in recent months.
On the 13th of this month, U Sai Pha and U Saw Nan Di, two senior NLD members in Shan State, were detained for unspecified reasons.
In August, the regime arrested 15 university students in Rangoon for protesting against it. Thirteen were released within a week, but law students Thet Naung Soe and Khin Maung Win have reportedly been sentenced to seven years imprisonment for their involvement in the protests.
In July, two NLD members were beaten and arrested for possessing copies of the New Era Journal, which is published by dissidents based in Thailand. The regime’s court later sentenced the two to three years’ imprisonment under section 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act.
The latest crackdown comes amid signs of a thaw between the NLD and the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
At today’s celebrations of the NLD’s founding, the party’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, said, "We will never hesitate to cooperate with the armed forces, based on sincere goodwill."
"It is high time we all worked for the country holding hands together," she added in her address to 400 NLD party members and diplomats gathered at the party’s Rangoon headquarters.
It was not clear how the recent wave of arrests would affect the delicate d?tente between the NLD and the SPDC. The NLD has repeatedly stressed the need for all political prisoners to be released.
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