NLD Members Arrested at Suu Kyi Birthday Celebration

At least four members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in Rangoon by Burmese authorities at about 11 am on Thursday while they were releasing sparrows and doves to mark of the 63rd birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

About 700 NLD members were gathered in front of their Rangoon headquarters in celebration of Suu Kyi’s birthday when the assault occurred, according to the NLD   

In this photo released by the Democratic Voice of Burma, Buddhist monks and nuns along with members of the NLD and supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside the party headquarters to mark Suu Kyi's 63rd birthday, Thursday. Authorities later detained four opposition party members, NLD said. (Photo: AP/ DVB)

The arrested members were Tun Myint, Hla Aye, Maung Maung Thein and one unidentified woman, Win Naing, a member of the NLD public information department, told The Irrawaddy.

Before the arrests, a violent confrontation erupted when members of Swan Ah Shin, military-backed thugs, assaulted NLD members.

Many NLD members were beaten. One NLD woman member was seriously injured, said Win Naing. 
 
After the assault, about 10 vehicles carrying more than 300 security personnel in uniforms and plainclothes blocked the roads leading to NLD headquarters. 

The authorities earlier had prevented NLD members from offering food to Buddhist monks, said Ohn Kyaing, a NLD spokesperson.

Uniformed police arrive near NLD headquarters in Rangoon following a violent assault by junta-backed thugs on Suu Kyi’s birthday celebrations.

Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), an underground Buddhist group heavily involved in the 2007 demonstrations, released a statement on Wednesday asking the UN Security Council and the Council of the European Union to take immediate actions to protect the Burmese people from the Burmese military government. The two groups are scheduled to meet on Thursday in New York and Brussels.  

“We call on the UN Security Council to take effective action to stop the humanitarian crises in Burma, created by the Burmese military government,” the ABMA said in its statement.

The statement read: “We would like to call for leaders of the EU to continue to assist Burma’s democracy movement led by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. We request the EU to bring [Snr-Gen] Than Shwe, leader of the Burmese military junta, before the International Criminal Court to be tried for his crimes against humanity, as recommended by the European Parliament.” 

Suu Kyi completed a five-year sentence under house arrest on May 27. Under the conditions of her detention, Article 10 (b) of the State Protection Act Law 1975, a person can be detained for a maximum of five years.

However, the military regime announced in late May that Suu Kyi’s house arrest had been officially extended for one year.