The military council has arrested Ko Nay Soe (also known as Thuriya Soe), a Rakhine ethnic resident living in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region, alleging connections with revolutionary organizations including the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). The arrest was reported in the military council’s propaganda newspaper, Myanmar Alin, on March 17. According to the military council’s statement, Ko Nay Soe was accused of spreading propaganda on social media with the intention of disrupting national stability and peace.
The arrest took place around 3 PM on March 15 in Yay Chan Oh village, Pyin Oo Lwin Township. He is currently being detained at a police station in Pyin Oo Lwin, where legal proceedings have been initiated against him. Sources close to Ko Nay Soe, who is originally from Thandwe, describe him as an ordinary businessman who has been making an honest living. He had previously been involved with some Rakhine-based political parties. The military council has designated the National Unity Government, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and their affiliated organizations as terrorist groups, and has been arbitrarily arresting those suspected of having connections with these organizations.
Meanwhile, the National Unity Government, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and other revolutionary organizations have in turn designated the military council, led by the Myanmar military, as a terrorist organization and its members as terrorists. These groups are actively engaged in resistance efforts aimed at completely dismantling the military council’s control. The revolutionary organizations have accused the military council of systematically perpetrating violence, arbitrary arrests, and torture against civilians.
The military council has been implementing increasingly restrictive measures against those it suspects of having ties to resistance movements, while simultaneously facing growing opposition from various revolutionary forces across the country. The arrest of Ko Nay Soe represents another instance in the military council’s pattern of targeting civilians under accusations of supporting the resistance movement, highlighting the ongoing tension between the military regime and those working towards the restoration of democratic governance in Myanmar.
