Junta still holds over 1,000 NLD members behind bars, says ousted ruling party

By Admin 14 Jun 2023

DMG Newsroom
14 June 2023, Sittwe

Some 1,200 members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) including 77 former lawmakers have been detained since the military coup, the ousted ruling party said in a statement on June 13.

According to data compiled by the NLD Human Rights Documentation Team (NLD-HRDT), 93 members of the NLD, including two MPs, have been killed since the coup, Tuesday’s statement said.

U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, said the junta does not want the NLD to grow in power, so it is working to make the NLD disappear from the political arena.

“The junta dissolved the NLD party because NLD supporters are fighting against the junta. If they win, the NLD will become stronger,” he added.

Most detained NLD party members have been sentenced to long prison terms by the military council and are deprived of their rights as they are not allowed to meet with family members.

U Nyi Pu, an NLD member and former Arakan State chief minister, was sentenced to 13 years in prison by Myanmar’s military regime on multiple dubious counts. U Nyi Pu’s family members have been denied prison visits several times, and have not been not allowed to meet with the ex-chief minister.

“I don’t know his condition and we are not allowed to meet him. We are worried about his safety,” said a family member of the ousted Arakan State chief minister.

The junta destroyed NLD offices across the country and looted property owned by the NLD a total of 153 times, the party’s statement added.

The NLD urged the international community, including ASEAN, to take more effective action against crimes committed by the junta.

The military seized power in Myanmar more than two years ago, since February 1, 2021. As of June 13 of this year, the civilian death toll attributed to Myanmar’s military coup had reached 3,659, and 23,323 civilians were detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).