AFP calls for release of party advisor

By DMG 14 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
14 October 2022, Sittwe

The Arakan Front Party (AFP) on Friday called for the release of party advisor and former Arakan State lawmaker U Kyaw Lwin, who was detained by unknown men earlier this month.

In its Friday statement, the party requested that U Kyaw Lwin be released “so as not to cause discord among Arakanese people, and other undesirable repercussions.”

U Kyaw Lwin and AFP central executive committee member U Maung Kaung were detained by unknown men in Zin Chaung Village, Kyaukphyu Township, on October 4. U Maung Kaung was released two days later.

“I don’t know where U Kyaw Lwin is being detained because we were blindfolded when we were detained,” U Maung Kaung said. “I don’t know who my captors were. I lost consciousness in the car when I was sent back. I regained consciousness only after I arrived back at my home.”

AFP chairman Dr. Aye Maung has also called for the immediate release of U Kyaw Lwin.

“We have asked the State Administration Council,” he said, referring to Myanmar’s military junta. “They told me that they didn’t detain him. I urge any group that has detained U Kyaw Lwin to release him,” said Dr. Aye Maung.

A relative of U Kyaw Lwin claimed that the AFP advisor was detained by the Arakan Army (AA), an allegation that DMG was unable to independently verify.

“We heard that he is being held at an AA base. We don’t know where it is,” said the relative.

Family members have expressed concerns for U Kyaw Lwin’s health as he has respiratory problems.

When asked by DMG, AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha neither confirmed nor denied the accusation that its personnel had arrested U Kyaw Lwin.

“I still don’t know exactly about his detention. We are still investigating,” said the AA spokesman. “As the situation is quite complicated at this time, it is also possible that someone has taken him [for personal reasons].”

U Kyaw Lwin was an Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker representing Kyaukphyu Township in the Arakan State Parliament from 2015 to 2020, before quitting that party to join the AFP.