A long-time member of the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) central information committee was reportedly arrested by the military regime on the night of March 18, according to multiple NLD sources. U Kyi Toe worked with detained State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and had been giving insider updates about the NLD and its leaders since the military’s Feb.1 coup.
U Phyo Zeya Thaw, who led the NLD’s 2020 election campaign in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw, confirmed that U Kyi Toe and another supporter of the party were detained by the security forces during a late night raid in Yangon.
U Kyi Toe has been a diehard supporter of the NLD since 1988 and has long worked behind the scenes for the party. He has been part of the NLD’s central information team ever since Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest in 2010. In a series of public talks before the 2020 election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi chose U Kyi Toe to speak with her about the NLD’s long political journey and the challenges that the NLD had to overcome under the previous military dictatorship.
Following the coup, U Kyi Toe had become a crucial and reliable source for pro-democracy supporters and media about the current state of the party and its leaders.
Several NLD members, including all Central Executive Committee members (CEC), have been detained by the junta since the coup. Their families are not allowed to know where they are being held.
In early March, two NLD members, Ko Zaw Myat Lin, who was in charge of Suu Vocational Institute in Shwepyithar Township, Yangon and U Khin Maung Latt, ward chairman of the NLD in Pabedan Township, Yangon died while being detained by the military regime.
As of Thursday, almost 230 civilians have been killed by the security forces since the coup and 1,938 arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
You may also like these stories:
Myanmar Regime Sues 10 University Academics on Strike
Singapore Military Chief Expresses ‘Grave Concern’ to Myanmar Regime Leader
Can China Prevent Further Bloodshed in Myanmar?
