Detained Myanmar protesters launch hunger strike

A group of pro-democracy protesters detained in military-ruled Myanmar launched a hunger strike Thursday, demanding that authorities provide medical treatment for a wounded colleague, activists said.

Ye Thein Naing, 37, suffered a broken leg when police and pro-government militia violently broke up a demonstration in Yangon on Tuesday and arrested up to 20 people, activists said.

He and an unknown number of other protesters are being held at an improvised detention centre at the city’s Kyaikkasan sports grounds, they said.

“Some of the people arrested with him started a hunger strike this evening because their colleague Ye Thein Naing hasn’t received any medical treatment for his broken leg,” one activist told AFP on condition on anonymity.

At least 100 people have been arrested since a rare string of anti-government rallies began on August 19 in protest at a massive hike in fuel prices, according to activists.

Myanmar’s military regime, which for 45 years has ruled this impoverished nation with an iron fist, deals harshly with even the slightest show of dissent.

At Tuesday’s protest, about 50 activists had gathered near the former campus of Yangon University to start a rally when plainclothes police and pro-junta militia broke up the group after only 10 minutes.

“Ye Thein Naing was beaten and thrown onto a waiting truck by militia,” one activist said.

“His leg was broken at that time, when he was beaten up. Even then, they still kept kicking him on the truck,” the activist added.

Like many of the protesters, Ye Thein Naing is a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by detained Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.