Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, a staunch life-long leader of Myanmar’s democratic movement and close ally of jailed leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, died in junta custody on Monday. He was 73.
The prominent politician and four-time elected lawmaker was chief minister of Mandalay Region and a deputy chair of the National League for Democracy (NLD). He was arrested after the military coup in February 2021 along with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior NLD figures.
He had also been repeatedly imprisoned by previous military regimes for his political activism.
The current junta sentenced the 73-year-old, who was suffering from leukemia, to a total of 29 years in jail on trumped-up charges including corruption and electoral fraud and thrown into Mandalay’s Obo prison.
Sources said Zaw Myint Maung was sent to Mandalay General Hospital two weeks ago, when his condition deteriorated beyond the capabilities of the Obo Prison infirmary, but died at 3 a.m. Monday.
Junta officials rushed to the hospital just hours before his death to tell the unconscious politician that he had been given a pardon, in what seemed a desperate attempt to cover their failure to provide adequate medical care tnat could have saved the revered elder statesman’s life.
“It is the military junta who killed [Dr. Zaw Myint Maung]. It was the Min Aung Hlaing regime who ended his life,” said Ko Tayzar, a democracy activist from Mandalay.
The Political Prisoners Network-Myanmar issued a statement saying the death was the result of inadequate medical care in the prison, which has killed 13 other political prisoners this year alone.
Dr. Zaw Myint Maung’s body has been sent back to his home in Mandalay and the funeral will be held on Tuesday.
He is the second NLD leader to have died since former party patron U Tin Oo passed away in June.
Unbowed democracy fighter
An alumnus of the Mandalay University of Medicine, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung entered politics following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and won four elections in 1990 (Amarapura), 2012 (Kyaukpadaung), 2015 (Amarapura) and 2020 (Amarapura) representing the NLD.
He was arrested by the then-military regime after 1990 election and spent nearly 20 years behind bars in Insein Prison in Yangon and Myitkyina Prison in Kachin State.
After the party’s landslide electoral victory in 2015, he served as the Mandalay Region’s chief minister and NLD vice-chair. He was a respected figure among Mandalay residents, NLD party members and supporters for his unwavering commitment to the cause of democracy, often risking his life in his tireless work for the country and its people.
During the 2020 general election campaign, NLD leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said of her deputy: “I value him as a core member of the NLD and a comrade of mine from the very beginning of the party.”
Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government and its parliamentary committee as well as the NLD expressed their deep condolences to the family and hailed him as “a martyr of the nation”
Many ordinary citizens also paid tributes.
“The junta must be held fully accountable for all of their crimes and their consequences. There is no justification for their action,” said democracy activist Ko Tayzar San.
The NUG reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling the goals of the people’s revolution envisioned by Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, and vowed to continue to work steadfastly until it succeeds.
“His love for the country and the people, his loyalty to the NLD and the public, his integrity, and his sacrifices for democracy will forever remain in the hearts of all Myanmar people as a model and legacy of an outstanding politician. The National Unity Government will always remember and honor him with deep respect,” it said in a statement.
