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BURMESE JUNTA DETAINS ELECTED MEMBE
Press Release
Date: November 17, 1997
BURMESE JUNTA DETAINS ELECTED MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
==================================================
Dr. Min Soe Lin, an elected member of parliament and general
secretary of the banned Mon National League for Democracy
(MNLD), has been arrested by Burma's military regime for
criticizing the junta.
He was detained on November 6 by the then State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC) under Article 5 (j) of the
Emergency Provision Act. The ABSDF has learnt that Dr. Min
Soe Lin, 40, was arrested for his role in organising
celebrations for this year's 50th Mon National Day on
February 23, which the SLORC had refused to allow go ahead.
Dr. Min Soe Lin was arrested in Mudon, Mon State, but it is
not known where he has been taken or under what conditions
he is being held.
Dr. Min Soe Lin was elected by various Mon organizations as
general secretary of the Mon State Commission for the Golden
Jubilee Celebration of Mon National Day. In this role, he
repeatedly sought permission to hold the celebration in
Moulmein, the capital of Mon State. However, the Military
Intelligence Service (5) based in Moulmein, refused to give
its consent for the celebration, although permission had
been granted in previous years.
Finally, after cancelling the arrangements in Moulmein, the
celebration was held near Kanni at the source of the Ye
River in an area under the control of the New Mon State
Party (NMSP). However, the military considered this an act
of defiance and it was widely known that Dr. Min Soe Lin was
subsequently placed on the military's most wanted list.
Dr. Min Soe Lin graduated from the Rangoon Institute of
Medicine (2) in 1985. While he was studying at the institute
he was an executive member of the Rangoon Universities' Mon
Culture and Literature Association, and secretary of the
association's Buddhist section.
He joined the Mon National League for Democracy when it was
formed after the 1988 uprising. He was one of five
successful MNLD candidates in the 1990 election, winning the
seat of Ye (1) in Mon State. The SLORC banned the MNLD on 19
March, 1992, under order No. 8/92.
Central Committee
All Burma Students' Democratic Front
For more information please call 01-923 1687 or 01-654 4984.