Tuesday, September 16, 2008

70 YEAR-OLD WOMAN ARRESTED AND DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI ACCEPTS FOOD


Kyi Oo, mother of famous comedian and actor Zarganar, who is also being held in prison, said that she was concerned about Tin Tin Win, who is not in good health."She has the usual senile dementia at her age, but has no specific diseases. I used to see her from my house visiting her family doctor. Sometimes she came to our house to take rest on her way back from the clinic. She has no companion staying with her. I don't want to see her die in prison," she said.It is still not known why she was arrested but political circles speculated that it is likely to be connected with 88 Generation women student activist Nilar Thein's visit to her house just before her arrest."She was taken away on Thursday afternoon but is still missing and we still do not know why she was arrested. We can't enquire about it either," one of her friends, who wished to be anonymous, said. A statement issued by 88 Generation Students today says, "The students ask the government not to torture persons arrested and it must take responsibility for any death or injuries inflicted on these persons".Most of the leaders of 88 Gen Students are now hiding but are circulating statements to the Burmese community by emails. Mizzima cannot reach them for their comments.Besides arresting student leaders and monks who took part in the September unrest last year, their family members and close relatives were also arrested by the regime.Opposition sources said that the authorities arrested at least eight youths including Aung Ko Ko Lwin, younger brother of Gambira, the monk leader of the Saffron Revolution in September last year, living in Meiktila, Mandalay Division on Thursday morning.It is learnt that their family members are unaware of their fate.Similarly the local authorities in Rangoon arrested five persons including Moe Htet Lian, husband of Gambira's elder sister Khin Thu Htay from their Dagon satellite town residence in Rangoon on September 9 this year.

Ailing Suu Kyi accepts food rations

The doctor administered intravenous fluids Sunday to the 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been confined to her lakeside Yangon home for most of the last 19 years, the official said.
"She accepted her food supplies Monday evening, after she was given a drip by her doctor, who found that she was too weak on Sunday," the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Her lawyer Kyi Win on Monday described her as "malnourished" after she had refused to accept her daily rations since August 16.
The Myanmar official said that Aung San Suu Kyi had been allowed to receive copies of magazines such as Time and Newsweek, but so far she had not been allowed to receive any messages from her family.
She has had no communication from her two sons since 2003, according to her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.
Both the government official and NLD spokesman Nyan Win said that she would likely meet with the junta's liaison officer later this week, if her strength improves.
"We hope there will be some progress and good results after the meeting," Nyan Win said.
"We are also expecting to develop to higher-level talks between Daw Suu and senior leadership from this dialogue," he added, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi by an honorific.
Concerns for her health had mounted after she began refusing to accept her food rations, and she and her two maids have been relying on the small stocks of food that she kept in her home, Kyi Win said.
The lawyer said she was not on a hunger strike, but had stopped accepting food deliveries to press for greater human rights.
Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to meet with anyone other than her lawyer and her doctor since early August, declining to hold talks with visiting UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari and with the liaison officer, Labour Minister Aung Kyi.
But the military has allowed her to have an unusual series of meetings with her lawyer as they discuss filing a formal legal appeal against detention.
Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide victory in a 1990 election but the junta never allowed it to take office. The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962.

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