They were convicted and imprisoned for sending a parcel bomb to the residence of State Law and Order Restoration Council Secretary (2) Lt. Gen. Tin Oo. The explosion killed the General’s daughter Cho Le Oo.

Moe Kyaw Thu told Mizzima, “I sent a friend to the Yangon Passport Office on September 19 to inquire about my passport application. The authorities replied that they would give necessary assistance and told us to apply at the Yangon office.”

Moe Kyaw Thu and his wife were imprisoned term in 1997 and released in 2002.

 They applied for passports in October 2012 but were their application was declined. After almost a year, authorities have responded and are ready to provide assistance.

The authorities, unable to arrest the culprits of the 1997 bomb blast, arrested Moe Kyaw Thu and his wife citing state security.  

Moe Kyaw Thu told Mizzima in an interview in August that they had nothing to do with the blast and that obtaining a passport is every citizen’s fundamental right.

Lt. Gen. Tin Oo, who narrowly escaped the bomb blast in 1997, died in a helicopter crash in February 2011 near Pa-an, Karen State.