Burma – Attack on Aung San Suu Kyi’s party headquarters over Molotov cocktails

A party in the former headquarters of Aung San Suu Kyi, a party official, caught fire in Yangon on Friday morning due to a Molotov cocktail.

Burma has been going through a serious crisis since the ouster of the former Nobel Peace Prize winner from power in a military coup on 1 February. Since Poonch, some of the National League for Democracy (LND) depots, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, remain in hiding and the party office in Yangon is occupied by a handful of employees.

On Friday morning, around 4 pm (9:30 pm GMT) the premises were set on fire after a person threw Molotov cocktails, as soon as the curfew was lifted.

A member of the NLD, So Vin, told the headquarters, “When the surrounding residents came to know of the fire, they called the fire department to extinguish it. It was under control at 5 am.” “Looks like someone lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it in the direction of the seat.” He said only the entrance to the building was hit and party members were on hand to assess the damage. “We’re going to file a complaint with the police … We don’t know who did it, but it’s not good at all,” Soo Win said.

“Free Our Leaders”

LND headquarters was one of the preferred locations for protests in the weeks following the coup. At Friday morning, a small group was performing near downtown Yangon, shouting “Free our leaders”.

According to a group to protect political prisoners, 320 people have died in the unrest since the put, speaking for its share of 164 death tolls. Some NLD MPs have formed a group, which constitutes a committee representing the Burmese term for Pyidaungse Hluttaw (CRPH) – “Parliament” – which works underground to protest against military rule. The junta declared any involvement with CRPH as “high treason” and included some of its most prominent members, who all remain in hiding.

AFP

Posted at 5:19 AM this morning