Families and friends believe that Kyaw Kyaw belonging to the clandestine activist group, the Generation Wave (GW), Thiha and Yan Naing Thu from the People's Union, who have been conducting poster campaigns, distributing banned political VCDs and DVDs, have been arrested by the police.
"I heard that many were arrested from their meeting place. And when family members called Yan Naing Thu, an elderly man replied saying 'don't worry, we will tell him to call you back'. But when family members called back, the cell phone was switched off," a close friend of Yan Naing Thu told Mizzima.
While Thiha and Yan Naing Thu were believed to have been arrested on Wednesday night, family members said Kyaw Kyaw might have been arrested in the afternoon.
"They were being watched everywhere as their work was visible. It seems the authorities finally spotted their meeting place," added the friend.
However, the whereabouts of the activists and details of their alleged arrests could not be independently verified.
Family members and friends, however, said they are worried about their well-being, as the Burmese authorities have a tradition of severely torturing when interrogating detainees.
Another activist, who has experienced severe torture in Burmese detention centres said, "We are made to sit the whole day on sharp stones, sometimes burnt with cigarette butts and hit hard on our backs with batons. I wasn't even a leader, but since they are leaders, they are likely to be severely tortured."
Friends and colleagues said authorities had recently arrested four members of the GW. And the authorities might have interrogated and tortured them to know the whereabouts of Kyaw Kyaw and his friends.
