Politician arrested by Myanmar military junta dies in custody
Yangon, Myanmar, Mar 7 (efe-epa).- A politician arrested by the military junta died in police custody in Myanmar amid fresh anti-coup protests on Sunday.
Khin Maung Latt, a member of the National League for Democracy party of the country’s deposed leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was the party chairman in a Yangon township, the most populated city, local media Irrawaddy reported.
He was arrested late Saturday.
At least 54 protesters were killed and hundreds injured in the daily protests across the country against the Feb.1 coup.
Despite the military repression, the Myanmar people again protested in several cities including the capital, Naypyitaw, and Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city.
They demanded the release of their leaders, including Suu Kyi, and the restoration of democracy in the country.
Meanwhile, the junta insisted that there was electoral fraud in the elections held in November that led the military to take over and that the security forces have acted appropriately in the protests.
According to official media Global New Light of Myanmar, authorities removed the body of Kyal Sin, a protester who died on Wednesday, from her grave.
They concluded that she had been shot dead using a weapon that did not belong to the police or military.
It contradicts the testimonies of several demonstrators who witnessed the incident that took place during protests in the city of Mandalay.
Kyal Sin, 19, nicknamed Angel, has become one of the symbols of resistance against the military, which seized power after almost a decade of democracy.
The military had also ruled the country between 1962 and 2011.
The military junta has been cutting off internet access every night for weeks as part of repressive measures against the population, which has launched a movement of civil disobedience against the junta.
Authorities have detained over 1,500 people since the coup.
Three days after the coup, authorities also blocked access to Facebook and Twitter, the platforms most used by critics of the military junta,
But many users use virtual private networks (VPN) that allow access to restricted pages.
Protesters demand that the military restore democracy, recognize the results of the November election – in which international observers did not detect any wrongdoing and which resulted in a landslide victory for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party -, and release all those detained. EFE-EPA
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