
A senior legal advisor to the government has resigned from his post to become the highest-ranking public employee taking part in the movement against last month’s military coup.
Thant Sin, the vice permanent secretary of the Union Attorney-General’s Office, announced on Sunday that he was stepping down to stand with the people in defiance of military rule.
On his social media page, he wrote that he “donated” his rank to those opposed to the February 1 overthrow of the country’s elected civilian government.
“I’m no longer anything. I’m just an ordinary person. I’ve let go of my life for the revolution. The revolution will prevail!” he wrote, urging others to participate in the resistance movement in any way possible.

In a video interview with Myanmar Now, he called the coup “a huge injustice” and said that civil servants had “no choice but to join” the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) against military rule.
“We used to carry out our duties in accordance with the law, but since the coup, they [the regime] have been issuing orders about what we have to do, some of which are unlawful,” he said.
“We are also deprived of our rights as civil servants. We no longer have weekends. They just order us to complete this and that within the timeframe they set. Whatever charges they file against individuals opposed to the regime, we are meant to pass guilty sentences,” he added.
Referring to recent violent crackdowns, he said the world must be shown the atrocities committed against peaceful protesters by heavily armed police and soldiers.

The announcement came on a day of deadly violence, as security forces cracked down on nationwide protests, killing at least 18.
A day earlier, he wrote on Facebook that he craved the “food of the revolution” being handed out during protests.
Soon after the coup, doctors and other healthcare workers became the first to join the CDM, which has since attracted thousands of public employees from a variety of government departments.
Thant Sin is believed to be among the first from a department dealing with legal matters to have joined the movement. As a vice permanent secretary, he is also the most senior official to resign in protest over the coup.