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Myanmar Poet Dies in Military Detention, Family Says

VOA News

   A Myanmar poet whose work promoted resistance against the military
   juntahasdied, his family said Sunday.

   KhetThiand his wife, ChawSu, were both taken in for questioning on
   Saturdayinthe town ofShweboin theSagaingregion, family members said.
   ChawSuwas released but KhetThiwas not.

   "They called me in the morning and told me to meet him at the hospital
   in Monywa," ChawSutold BBC Burmese language news."I thought it was just
   for a broken arm or something.... But when I arrived here, he was at
   the morgue and his internal organs were taken out."

   Family members told reporters that his body was missing some organs and
   showed signs of torture when they went to identify him at themorgue.
   The army released the body to the family, Reuters reported.

   KhetThi, who penned the line,"They shoot in the head, but they don't
   know the revolution is in the heart," wasin his 40s, according tohis
   Facebook page.

   The military junta, which seized power in a coup in February, has not
   publicly commented on the poet's detention or death.Calls to a
   spokesman for the junta seeking comment werenotanswered, Reuters
   reported.

   KhetThiisat leastthe third poetto diesince the coup, according to
   Reuters.KhetThihad been friends with K Za Win, 39, a poet who was shot
   during a protest in March.
   A woman lights a candle while others flash the three-fingered sign of
   resistance during a candlelight vigil to remember those who died in the
   military junta's violent response to anti-coup demonstrations in
   Yangon, Myanmar, April 16, 2021.

   With the coup approaching its 100thday,protestshave continued, aided by
   strikes by students and civil servants throughout the country. The
   military, known as the Tatmadaw,has killed 780 demonstrators since
   February, according to the Assistance Association for Political
   Prisoners, a non-profit human rights group based in Thailand.

   The Tatmadaw has justified the coup by claiming, without evidence, that
   the 2020 general elections that delivered the ruling National League
   for Democracy a second term were riddled with fraud. It has promised to
   hold new elections sometime after a one-year state of emergency, though
   many expect it to delay and to disqualify the widely popular NLD from
   running candidates.

   Many top NLD leaders, including Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi, have
   remained in custody since their arrests on the morning of the coup,
   while others are in hiding. Fighting between the Tatmadaw and some
   ethnic armed groups has alsoincreased.

   Cultural figures, such as KhetThi, and celebrities have been vocal
   supporters of the protests.

   An engineer until 2012, KhetThiquit his job to focus on poetry and sell
   cakes and ice cream, Reuters reported.He expressed his frustration
   recently, saying he didn't want to be a "hero," a "martyr," "a
   weakling" or a "fool."
   "My people are being shot and I can onlythrow backpoems," he wrote.
   "But when you are sure your voice is not enough, then you need to
   choose a gun carefully. I will shoot."

   'ŻEsha Saraicontributed to this report.

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