Anti-military activist and Movement for Democracy Force (MDCF) founder Htin Kyaw, who was arrested last year after staging a one-man protest in downtown Yangon, has been sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor, his wife confirmed to Coconuts Yangon today.
Htin Kyaw was yesterday sentenced by a Yangon court under Section 505(b) of Myanmar’s penal code, prohibiting the dissemination of information that “could disrupt public tranquility,” a charge he has faced many times in his long political career, according to his wife and MDCF secretary Than Than Maw.
“We have faced this charge many times before; he was charged 11 times once in the previous government. However, we didn’t expect them to sentence him to the full extent of the law. We are preparing to challenge the sentence,” Than Maw said by telephone earlier.
In August last year, Htin Kyaw called on international organizations and tribunals to “come quick and arrest Myanmar’s murderous generals” and gave a speech blaming the Myanmar military for the country’s stagnant democratic reform. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested by Yangon police and charged with defamation.
Since then, he has been locked up in Myanmar’s notorious Insein prison, and been frequently shuttled to Yangon for court appearances. According to Than Maw, prison officials had refused him meals on many occasions during his imprisonment, and he had suffered from health problems as a result.
However, he remains focused on delivering the people’s message.
“Our goal has always been to speak for the people. When the [National League for Democracy] government came into power, they are now in charge of maintaining democracy. It is [MDCF’s] responsibility to speak out against deteriorating rule of law and freedom of speech,” she said.
Htin Kyaw and MDCF have been arrested numerous times by Myanmar authorities. Last year, they held three similar protests calling for the UN Security Council and the ICC to take action against Myanmar’s generals. In each instance, authorities instantly arrested them.
Their tactic of using solo protestors has been carefully crafted to keep the pressure on Myanmar authorities under the NLD government, applying a guerilla-style strategy to get their message out using as few people as possible.
“If we protest together, many of us can get jailed at the same time, but by doing these solo protests, we can still inform the public while forcing authorities to act. Also this way, we can show inconsistencies in the way they apply their laws,” Than Maw said.
In August, Coconuts Yangon spoke to an NLD official who seemed unfazed by the blatant crackdown on free speech and freedom of assembly, instead defending the action by questioning Htin Kyaw’s motives.
“Are they attempting to divide the current NLD government and the Tatmadaw? We have to investigate their intentions and their goals,” he told Coconuts then.
Under Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD government, freedom of speech and freedom of the press have worsened due to the use of “broad and vaguely worded laws” like 505(c) to criminalize peaceful expression by citizens, journalists and activists, according to a Human Rights Watch report in February.
