Two Men Arrested at Rangoon Weekly

Military intelligence officers raided the office of the Myanmar Nation weekly in Rangoon on Friday and again on Monday, arresting the editor and the office manager.

Thet Zin

Thet Zin, the 42-year-old editor, is a former political prisoner who was sentenced to Insein Prison in 1988.

He was arrested on Friday evening, according to his wife, Khin Swe Myint. She said she didn’t know why the authorities arrested her husband.

“About eight policemen and intelligence officials came to the Myanmar Nation office at 5:30 pm on Friday and searched the office for about four hours,” she told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

The office manager, Sein Win Maung, was also arrested.

Among the documents military officers confiscated from the office were UN Special Rapporteur Paulo Sergio Pinheiro's report on Burma, Shan ethnic leader Shwe Ohn’s book on federalism and a VCD on the September uprising. Sources said authorities also confiscated hand-written poems from Sein Win Maung's desk.

Both men are being held at the Thingangyun Township police ptation on the outskirts of Rangoon.

“Thet Zin has heart and lung-related diseases,” said his wife, who met with him on Monday at the police station.

The military regime has increased pressure on journalists, reporters and writers in Burma after the pro-democracy uprising was crushed.

Recently, authorities arrested a blogger, Nay Phone Latt.

The Irrawaddy has learned that authorities have been focusing on the connection between journalists in Burma and exiled-based media organizations.

Thet Zin has published poems and short stories in Burmese-language magazines under the pen name Maung Zin.

Previously, he worked as a reporter and editor for several weekly journals including News Watch and Ah Lin Tan. He founded the Myanmar Nation weekly in 2006.