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| Demonstrators flash a three-finger salute during a protest against the military coup in Dawei, Myanmar April 13, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Dawei Watch/via REUTERS) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Myanmar security forces arrested on Thursday (Apr 15) one of the main leaders of the campaign against military rule after driving into him with a car as he led a motorbike protest rally, friends and colleagues said.
Opponents of a Feb 1 coup that ousted an elected government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi have kept up their campaign against the military this traditional New Year week with marches and various other displays of resistance. "Our brother Wai Moe Naing was arrested. His motorbike was hit by a private car of the police," Win Zaw Khiang, a member of a protest organizing group, said on social media. Wai Moe Naing, a 25-year-old Muslim, has emerged as one of the most high-profile leaders of the opposition to the coup.
Earlier, Reuters spoke to Wai Moe Naing by telephone as he was setting off to lead the rally in the central town of Monywa, about 700km north of the main city of Yangon. Video posted on social media showed an oncoming car swerving into a group of motorbikes. Reuters was not able to verify the footage. The license plate of the black car shown in two videos swerving into the rally didn’t match the vehicle model listed for that plate number on Myanmar's vehicle database.
