AYEYARWADDY DIVISION – Junta council troops and police frequently check the guest list in the townships of Ayeyarwaddy Division, and local residents said that they threatened to arrest people if they find photos of prominent politicians, including Stae Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, on their phones or in their homes.
In addition, an official of the Pathein Urban Guerrilla Force said that those who liked the social network Facebook accounts of prominent political activists, or wrote comments on their posts were also arrested.
“It’s not only the possession of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s pictures, if you like the Facebook account of prominent politicians in the township, or if you write a comment (on their posts), you will be arrested. Then, during the guest list inspection, in addition to that if they found the photo of the state counselor or President U Win Myint werr placed on the wall ,they threatened to take action,” said the official.
It is said that guest lists are frequently checked in areas where there are many tenants and in some wards of Pathein and Yay Kyi Townships, there are said to be inspections every night. Residents also said that the junta forces are checking the guest lists frequently because of spreading news that the People’s Defence Force (PDF) will enter Ayeyarwaddy Division in May and June.
The reports are unable to be independently confirmed and all attempts to contact the junta council’s spokesman for Ayeyarwaddy Division, Minister of Social Affairs Maung Maung Than, were not accepted. Since the coup, junta council soldiers have been checking the guest list almost all over the country and making arrests on mere suspicion.
It is still unable to be independently confirmed how many people were abducted while conducting inspections of guest list in Ayeyarwaddy Division. According to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of May 29, 18,407 people have been abducted nationwide in more than two years since the coup.