Myanmar regime jails 4 prominent activists

The military regime that rules Myanmar arrested four prominent political activists Saturday, Amnesty International said, including one who had gone into hiding after leading some of the first major marches in the recent uprising against the government.

The United Nations has called on the regime to halt its crackdown on the protesters, and a U.N. special envoy was expected in the region today to help coordinate a response among key Asian governments.

Among those detained Saturday was Htay Kywe, who led marches several weeks ago, Amnesty said. Others arrested were Aung Htoo and Thin Thin Aye, also known as Mie Mie.

The three were believed to be the last remaining activists at large from the 88 Generation Students Group, the country’s boldest dissident organization, which was at the forefront of a 1988 democracy uprising and one of the main forces behind the protests that started in August. The military government brutally stamped out the 1988 demonstrations, resulting in an estimated 3,000 deaths.

A fourth activist, Ko Ko, was also arrested, the rights group said. They were believed to have been rounded up in Yangon, the main city in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Troops crushed the recent pro-democracy demonstrations by shooting into crowds of protesters in Yangon, also known as Rangoon, last month. The military regime says 10 people were killed in the clashes and 2,100 were detained, but diplomats and dissidents say that as many as 6,000 people were taken into custody.

Amnesty said it did not have details on Saturday’s arrests, which could not be independently confirmed.

“Amnesty International believes that these high-profile opposition figures are at grave risk of torture and mistreatment,” said Daniel Alberman, a spokesman for the group.