When junta soldiers could not find Wai Lwin Oo, a participant in the anti-junta Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) they abducted nine of his family members, including his daughter aged four years and nine months.
Junta soldiers visited Wai Lwin Oo’s house, in Inn Daing Village, in Mandalay’s Kyaukse Township, three times between 30 April and 3 May.
“A baby who is four years nine months old and nine members of the CDM participant’s family were arrested by junta troops in Kyaukse Township. They did not arrest the CDM participant, unfortunately they took his family members [instead],” a local source said to Mizzima.
“Wai Lwin Oo has been on the run for a long time because the Military Council has issued a warrant for his arrest. He is a CDM participant working in the educational sector and they have often searched for him”, the source added.
Previously, the junta troops announced that local resistance forces had used guns to threaten the driver of a vehicle carrying 150 million kyats for employees at the Military-owned Sin Min Cement Factory. They took the cash and the vehicle in the incident that happened near the toll gate on the bypass in Kyaukse Township, on 29 April.
They suspected that Wai Lwin Oo had played a part in the robbery and Mizzima’s source believes that is why they went looking for him at his house.
Junta forces first visited Wai Lwin Oo’s house on 30 April. On that day, when they could not find him they took his wife.
The soldiers returned the next day, 1 May, at 3 a.m. This time when they could not find Wai Lwin Oo they took away seven more of his relatives.
On 3 May they again returned and this time, because Wai Lwin Oo was not there they abducted his daughter who is only aged only four years and nine months. In total, they had taken nine of his family members.
Mizzima’s source said: “A few days ago, there was an incident involving the military-owned Sin Min cement factory. The military council suggested that he [Wai Lwin Oo ] was involved in the incident and that’s why the military troops came and searched his house. But this time, they abducted his family members including his youngest daughter. I think they will question Wai Lwin Oo’s family members to see if they have had any ontact with him.” said the source.
Nobody has heard from any of the arrested people or had any contact with them, according to people close to the family.
“It looks like they [the junta] are fascists. They should not have arrested the baby She is four years and nine months old. She can speak well and is very cute. But now, she is afraid of strangers and for now she is crying”, said a source close to Wai Lwin Oo's family.
