NLD candidate and strike leader arrested at junta checkpoint in Myitkyina, Kachin State

18 August 2022
NLD candidate and strike leader arrested at junta checkpoint in Myitkyina, Kachin State

A strike leader and a parliamentary candidate of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party from Ma Mone village in Hpakant Township were arrested at the 21-mile checkpoint on the outskirts of Myitkyina Township on 14 August, according to Kachin State’s NLD news and information team. 

Strike leader Sai Maung, 37, and Myo Kyaw Kyaw, 30, an elected parliamentary candidate from Mohnyin Township Constituency (2), were arrested while traveling from Myitkyina to Hpakant.

"I received a call from the lawyer that MP Myo Kyaw Kyaw had been arrested and a strike leader with him in the same car had also been arrested," a spokesperson for NLD news and information team told Mizzima. 

He said the main reason for the arrest appeared to be that the NUG government's Treasury bond and data linked with a PDF were found on a mobile phone. 

As of 15 August, no contact has been possible with the two men. 

The 21-mile checkpoint exists between Myitkyina Township and Moe Kaung Township and is located in Myitkyina Township. It is a checkpoint where a large number of Military Council troops from the military training facilities under the junta’s Northern Military Command are stationed.