Regime arrests military defector and former parliamentarian in Covid-19 isolation

Four people, including an army defector and a former parliamentarian, were arrested in Mandalay by the junta authorities on Monday night during a raid on a local civil society organisation. 

The individuals had been staying at the Kanaung Institute, which observes elections and conducts analysis on parliamentary affairs, in an attempt to isolate themselves after being infected with Covid-19. They tested positive for the virus last week, according to a source at the institute.

“They couldn’t go to a hospital. So they were staying at the office for temporary treatment,” a Kanaung Institute representative told Myanmar Now. 

Those arrested in the 11pm raid were two Kanaung Institute staff, a former National League for Democracy parliamentarian, and Maj Soe Wai Hlaing, an officer who had left the Myanmar military due to his opposition to the February 1 coup.

Following the arrests, there was speculation on social media that Maj Soe Wai Hlaing had provided training to the Mandalay People’s Defence Force (PDF), which was involved with a clash with the junta’s armed forces in the city on Tuesday morning. The Kanaung Institute official denied the allegations that any of those arrested were linked to the PDF. 

“These people have no ties to the PDF, they’re not giving any training. They were just sheltering at our office because they had Covid-19 symptoms and they were arrested,” the Kanaung Institute member said.

At the time of reporting on Wednesday evening, the military council had not issued a statement on the arrests. 

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners reported that nearly 900 people have been killed and more than 6,000 have been detained by the military council since the coup. The military council maintains that those killed are around 300. 

The regime-controlled health ministry recorded 680 new cases of Covid-19 nationwide on Wednesday. A new outbreak began in late May and Wednesday’s record was the highest number of infections documented within a 24-hour period since the coup.

Since March 2020, there have been nearly 150,000 recorded cases of Covid-19 with 3,269 deaths in the country, according to the health ministry now under the control of the military regime.