Myanmar’s regime last month sent two National League for Democracy (NLD) members to visit State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who refused to meet them.
Former NLD Tanintharyi Region chair U Aung Soe and Lower House lawmaker U Win Myint Aung for Depayin Township in Sagaing Region went to Naypyitaw Prison on March 25, before the regime dissolved the NLD.
“We were concerned that the party would be dissolved so we visited to ask for the chair’s advice. We would follow her guidelines. But we could not see her,” U Win Myint Aung told The Irrawaddy.
He said he wanted to ensure the NLD’s survival and stability.
A senior member of the NLD said: “The prison governor told Daw Aung San Suu Kyi about the visit and she refused to meet them.”
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was detained during the 2021 coup and sentenced to 33 years in jail on numerous trumped-up charges. She is in solitary confinement in Naypyitaw Prison.
In December last year, the regime allowed former NLD central executive committee (CEC) member Daw Sandar Min and former party member U Toe Lwin to visit to argue in favor of the junta’s plans for a general election.
The NLD leader refused to comment and told them not to visit again, according to party sources.
U Aung Soe is married to the sister of former Tanintharyi Region chief minister Daw Lei Lei Maw, who was jailed for 30 years for bribery in 2020. U Aung Soe resigned from the NLD in connection with Daw Lei Lei Maw’s bribery charges.
Daw Sandar Min and U Win Myint Aung were recently expelled from the NLD by the CEC. They told the media that the CEC was made up of members who had fled the country and lacked legitimacy.
The new Political Parties Registration Law says inmates cannot be party members so the NLD would have needed to expel the jailed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Win Myint to reregister with the junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC).
The regime has dissolved 40 political parties that did not reregister with the UEC.
The military ousted the NLD government in the February 2021 coup, alleging that the 2020 general election was marred by voter fraud. It has raided the NLD’s offices more than 120 times.
