Key activist goes underground before famine-like protest in Burma

An activist, who has called for a nationwide mass demonstration in Burma against the sudden fuel price hike, has gone missing. His compatriots believe he has gone underground to evade arrest and harassment by the junta. The protest demonstration is slated for Wednesday.

Htin Kyaw and the Myanmar Development Committee (MDC) vowed last week to orchestrate a mass protest, unless the military rulers rolled back the unannounced petroleum price hike in a week. The hike triggered an increase in bus fares and prices of other essential commodities.

The resentment gaining ground in the wake of skyrocketing prices of essential commodities in Burma, in the wake of the increase in prices of petroleum products, seems somewhat reminiscent of the ‘famine demonstration’.

Following the group’s announcement on August 17, Ko Htin Kyaw went missing, said Thein Aung Myint, member of the MDC and a close friend of Htin Kyaw.

“I last saw him on August 17. He was really determined to protest, but I never saw him again. And we cannot contact him as he does not have a telephone,” Thein Aung Myint told Mizzima.

Thein Aung Myint, however, said Htin Kyaw must have deliberately hidden himself to avoid uncalled for harassment or threats by the authorities. Htin Kyaw was arrested thrice in the recent past for protesting against the steady rise in the prices of essential commodities in Rangoon.

The group is to organize a nationwide protest against the recent fuel price hike on Wednesday, according to the MDC’s announcement. While Htin Kyaw remains unreachable, Thein Aung Myint said the group will go ahead with its planned protest tomorrow.

“We believe he [Htin Kyaw] will contact one of us tomorrow and join the activity,” Thein Aung Myint added.

Ko Thein Aung Myint, while not wanting to mention the place and time of the protest, said several people have approached him and are keen to join the protest.

Meanwhile, sources in Rangoon said authorities have warned high school students to stay away from any public gathering or protest.

Thein Aung Myint confirmed such warnings by school authorities and said some schools in north Okkla have declared a holiday on Wednesday.

“My niece [studying in the ninth standard] told me that the teachers had declared a holiday tomorrow,” said Thein Aung Myint.

Meanwhile, another group of activists known as ‘Committee for Peaceful Protest Against Famine’ has declared to hold a public protest gathering on Thursday in downtown Rangoon .

The group, which has not disclosed its identity, said the protest gathering would begin at 1 p.m. in front of the downtown Rangoon city hall. There will be speeches by a famous film director, a veteran journalist, a monk, a high school student and a house wife.

Protest march and rallies against the recent fuel price hike have become a little more frequent under repressive military rule in Burma, since it was first staged on Sunday by former student leaders, the 88 generation students’ group.

On August 14, the military junta, which grabbed power in a coup in 1988, secretly hiked the price of fuel – petrol, and diesel to 100 percent and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to 500 percent – throwing people into immense consternation as the fuel hike triggered an increase in bus fares and other commodity prices.

Surprisingly, the military regime, which is infamous for its brutal crackdown on even the slightest activity of its opponents, had on Sunday allowed the protestors to march through the city without intervening.