RANGOON — Win Tin, the octogenarian co-founder of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, remains in critical condition and under intensive care in Rangoon General Hospital for a fifth day. A group of supporters have started gathering to pray for the recovery of the veteran journalist and outspoken democracy activist.
“Doctors said he is not yet in safe condition as there’s bleeding from the colon,” said Kyaw Aung, the secretary of Win Tin Foundation, a group founded by Win Tin to take care of former political prisoners and their families.
Win Tin was admitted to a private hospital on March 12 seeking treatments for respiratory problems and hip pain. He was moved to Rangoon General on Saturday after his health failed to improve and as the public hospital has better medical equipment. He was reportedly put on oxygen therapy after losing consciousness.
A group of around 30 people from the NLD, Generation Wave and the Laiza Peace March group gathered at Shwedagon Pagoda on Wednesday morning to pray for the 85-year-old.
On Wednesday evening, some NLD members and people from civil society organizations staged a candle-light vigil for Win Tin at the entrance of Rangoon General Hospital.
After Aung San Suu Kyi, Win Tin is one of Burma’s best-known opposition figures. Since his release from prison in 2008, he has continued to wear his blue prison-issued uniform as a sign of solidarity with other political prisoners. He refused to return the shirt in April last year when the police demanded it back.
