Kyaw Myo Shwe backtracks again, will continue to pursue charges against Myanmar Now editor

It looks like Ma Ba Tha is not backing off in their case against Myanmar Now chief correspondent Swe Win.

Although Ma Ba Tha follower Kyaw Myo Shwe had filed defamation charges against the journalist earlier this week, it looked like the suit was ultimately going to be withdrawn.

The plaintiff had stated in an interview with Radio Free Asia yesterday: “I am going to withdraw the charge against Swe Win because my mother asked me to do so. However, someone else will file other charges against him—possibly through Ma Ba Tha or other nationalist organizations. We are still discussing who is going to file a claim against Swe Win.”

However, Kyaw Myo Shwe has backtracked on his words yet again, as he’s confirmed that he will still be pursuing the charges.

Speaking to Coconuts today, Kyaw Myo Shwe explained, “I was considering dropping the charges earlier because my nearly-80-year-old mother didn’t want me to have to be constantly going to the court and back. I also just had surgery two months ago, so she was worried that the case would have a severe impact on my health. She’s a simple woman and doesn’t understand things like this. She asked me to close the case and to explain it [her concerns] to Sayardaw [Wirathu], and I felt like I had to listen to my mother’s wishes.”

“I wanted her to be happy, so I temporarily told her that I would drop the charges. But afterwards, I explained to her that I was doing this for [our] race and religion, and that I was following the path that I should be following. I told her not to worry about me and that I would okay, and she finally accepted it. My final decision is to leave the case open as is, and take the necessary steps forward.”

The charges were brought forward in response to a Facebook post written by Swe Win, under the name Ba Kaung, in which he claimed Wirathu had transgressed the rules of Parazika for publicly lauding the murder of NLD legal advisor and prominent Muslim lawyer Ko Ni.

Swe Win has said that he will not yield to Ma Ba Tha’s demands for an apology to Wirathu.