The military council forces have arrested Ko Nay Soe (also known as Thuriya Soe), a Rakhine ethnic resident living in Pyin Oo Lwin city, Mandalay Region. According to the military council’s allegations, Ko Nay Soe was arrested for alleged connections with the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH). 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 action is being taken against him.
Ko Nay Soe, originally from Thandwe, is known to be an honest businessman who had previously been involved with some Rakhine State-based political parties, according to his associates. Since the military coup, 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 people with alleged connections to these organizations.
The military council’s propaganda newspaper, Myanmar Alin, accused Ko Nay Soe of writing and spreading propaganda on social media with the intention of disrupting state stability and peace. However, revolutionary forces have countered that it is the military council itself that is a terrorist organization committing violence against civilians. Currently, revolutionary forces are engaged in a struggle to completely eliminate the military dictatorship system. The arrest of Ko Nay Soe represents another instance of the military council’s ongoing campaign of arbitrary arrests and persecution of civilians under the pretext of connections to pro-democracy organizations.
