Win Htein (LND): in Burma, "we are used to peaceful struggle"
Win Htein, president of the National League for Democracy (LND), alongside the de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, arrested during the military coup of February 1, 2021. AFP
Text by: Jelena Tomic Follow
5 mins
After only ten years of democratic transition, the Tatmadaw, the powerful Burmese army, has regained power by overthrowing President Win Myint and de facto Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi.
They were both under house arrest, far from Rangoon, in Naypidyaw, the political capital.
Hundreds of deputies, who came this Monday, February 1 to the opening session of the new Parliament, were arrested.
The National League for Democracy (LND) won 83% of the seats last November, a score never recognized by the army.
NLD veteran Win Htein today calls on the international community to condemn the military coup and to support the fragile democracy in Myanmar.
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RFI: At 80, you are part of the former guard of the NLD. You once served as an officer in the military and fought alongside Aung San Suu Kyi for a long time. After the numerous arrests of senior party officials on Monday, are you afraid that the military will also come and arrest you?
Win Htein:
So far I'm fine.
I still haven't been arrested.
The soldiers know who I am, where I am and are aware of the criticisms I have made against them over the past two days.
So I am ready.
I expect to be arrested but I am not worried.
We are used to peaceful struggle.
You know, I have already spent over twenty years in prison.
Twenty years and two months to be exact.
From 1989 to 1995 and from 1996 to 2010. So if I go back to prison, it will be like coming back to my second house.
But I am not Papillon [in reference to convict Henri Carrière known as Papillon who, unjustly condemned, managed to escape from the Cayenne penal colony Editor's note], I will not try to escape from prison.
In the many interviews that I give to foreign media like yours, I criticize the action of the army, I demand the release of the elected members of the NLD and their return to Parliament and that the results of the elections be recognized.
They don't like all this.
That's why I think I would be arrested.
The November election results were the catalyst for tensions between the military and the civilian government. After the putsch, hundreds of deputies were barred from sitting in parliament. Where are they now?
At the height of power, President
Win Myint
and
Aung San Suu Kyi
are being held.
Then all the ministers were arrested from their homes and taken to the Ministry of Defense for a few hours.
They were removed from their posts and replaced by ministers chosen by the military government.
At the same time, more than 400 members of parliament are assigned to a residential complex near the parliament and are under the surveillance of the army and the police.
I am in regular contact with them and I follow what is going on.
Authorities have now decided to allow MPs to return home in groups of 20 each day, over the next two weeks.
We are therefore closely following developments and monitoring information on their return to their constituencies.
All our ministers have been removed from their posts.
They were ordered to leave their residence within three days.
At this point, the military has no plans to recognize the November 2020 election results.
In the aftermath of the coup, your party called for civil disobedience. Do you think he will be heard?
Some people will join the movement, such as doctors for example.
Others have announced that they will keep their stores closed as a sign of a boycott.
Still others are ready to resign from their posts to protest against this coup.
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Read also: Burma: calls for civil disobedience multiply after the coup
What message are you sending to the international community and to France in particular?
We ask the international community to support our fight for democracy and to denounce the illegal seizure of power by the army.
The military should convene Parliament and recognize the results of the 2020 legislative elections. We do not encourage violence or the use of force against the military.
We are ready to take all legal actions to achieve our political ends.
The coup d'etat is illegal.
The international community should call on the military government to relinquish power and recognize the election results.
The junta has taken drastic actions by replacing elected civilians with soldiers.
We ask Mr. Macron to support the UN Security Council and force the army to transfer power to the civilian government led by our leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Read also: Coup d'état in Burma: the Security Council struggles to speak with one voice
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Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi
Human rights
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