[Junta suspends rules restraining
security forces as nationwide protests continue]
By Reuters in Yangon
The announcements came on Saturday,
the eighth day of country-wide demonstrations against the 1 February takeover
and detention of the elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,
which halted an unsteady transition to democracy that began in 2011.
A statement signed by the military
ruler, Gen Min Aung Hlaing, ordered the suspension of three sections of the
laws “protecting the privacy and security of the citizens”, which had been
introduced after Myanmar opened up from half a century of army rule.
The sections suspended include the
requirement for a court order to detain prisoners beyond 24 hours and
constraints on security forces’ ability to enter – and if need be damage –
private property to search it or make arrests. The suspension also frees
authorities to spy on all communications.
The statement gave no specific end
date.
The coup has prompted the biggest
street protests in more than a decade and has been denounced by western
countries, with the US announcing some sanctions on the ruling generals and
other countries also considering measures.
Before Myanmar began democratic
reforms, it was one of the world’s most isolated countries. In another echo of
the old era, the junta reintroduced a requirement for villages and wards in
towns to register anyone staying overnight.
As anti-coup protests sprang up
again in the biggest city, Yangon, the capital, Naypyidaw, and elsewhere on
Saturday, the army said arrest warrants had been issued for seven high-profile
critics of military rule over their comments on social media.
People should inform the police if
they spot any of the seven people named and will be punished if they shelter
them, the army’s information team said in a statement.
It said cases had been filed under
a law which imposes up to two years in prison for comments that could cause
alarm or “threaten tranquillity”.
On the wanted list is Min Ko Naing,
58, who was imprisoned for most of the time between 1988 and 2012, and who has
been one of the most prominent figures in encouraging the protests and a civil
disobedience movement.
Reuters was not immediately able to
reach him for comment.
Others with warrants against them
included “Jimmy” Kyaw Min Yu – also a veteran of the 1988 student uprising –
the singer “Lin Lin” Htwe Lin Ko, Myo Yan Naung Thein, a political analyst,
Maung Maung Aye, a television presenter, and the writer Insein Aung Soe.
“I am so proud to have a warrant
issued along with Min Ko Naing. Catch me if you can,” said another, Ei Pencilo,
to her more than 1.6 million followers on Facebook.
Like several of those named, she
worked with Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a
landslide in a November election the army alleged to be tainted with fraud – an
accusation dismissed by the electoral commission.
The UN human rights office said on
Friday that more than 350 people have been arrested in Myanmar since the coup
by Min Aung Hlaing.
The journalist Shwe Yee Win, who
had reported on opposition to the coup in the western town of Pathein, was
taken away by police and soldiers on Thursday and has not been heard from
since, her TimeAyeyar news website and her mother said.
“I am really worried,” said Thein
Thein, now looking after her daughter’s one-year-old child.
The government did not respond to
requests for comment.
The Assistance Association for
Political Prisoners voiced concern about a wave of overnight arrests.
“Family members are left with no
knowledge of the charges, location, or condition of their loved ones. These are
not isolated incidents, and nighttime raids are targeting dissenting voices,”
it said in a statement.
Aung San Suu Kyi, for decades the
standard bearer of the fight for democracy in Myanmar, faces charges of
illegally importing and using six walkie-talkie radios.
The NLD press officer Kyi Toe said
on Facebook that she was healthy under house arrest in the capital, Naypyidaw.
The coup and detentions have
prompted anger from western countries. The 47-member UN Human Rights Council
adopted a resolution on Friday calling on Myanmar to release detainees and
refrain from using violence against protesters.
