The fate of a striking doctor couple in Shan State is still unknown after they were detained and sent to a Myanmar military interrogation camp for refusing to work under the junta.
Anesthetist Dr. Mya San from Taunggyi’s Sao San Tun Hospital and his wife radiologist Dr. Aye Khaing Oo from Taunggyi’s Maternal and Child Hospital were detained in the Shan State capital Taunggyi on May 18, and sent to an interrogation camp run by the Myanmar military’s Eastern Command.
“They have joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). He [Dr. Mya San] was asked by Myat Taw Win Hospital to anaesthetize a patient who needed an emergency operation on the morning of May 18. He was detained when he came to the hospital. The couple are big-hearted persons. We learned that they were sent to an interrogation camp and that their family members aren’t allowed to see them yet,” a source close to the doctor couple told The Irrawaddy.
A large number of junta troops forcibly detained Dr. Mya San. They also beat hospital staff and swore at patients, according to witnesses. Regime soldiers also took CCTV records and a list of employees of Myat Taw Win Hospital.
One striking doctor from Mandalay said: “They joined the CDM because they can’t accept the coup. We don’t know yet why they were detained. It is quite an inhumane act to send them to an interrogation camp. We can only pray for them.”
A Mandalay resident who has been helping striking civil servants said: “The reason why striking civil servants are arrested is clear. Because the regime wants to extort money and put pressure on them. The regime is getting shaky and thus has been putting greater pressure on striking civil servants. So it is important that striking civil servants who have endured so far be cautious and continue their strike.”
Junta officials have frequently carried out surprise checks on private hospitals in Taunggyi to see if they are employing striking health workers, as well as asking for lists of hospital staff.,
On May 18-19, junta police conducted checks on at least five private hospitals in Taunggyi, as well as private clinics, according to residents.
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