Yangon
Struggling to crush the two-month old protest movement against a coup, Myanmar’s military rulers are cracking down on the country’s best-known actors and celebrities to block any support for the opposition campaign.
More than 50 soldiers came to arrest Paing Takhon, a 24-year-old model and actor who had spoken out against the coup, on Friday, his sister told Reuters. He was taken away and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Legendary actor-director Lu Min, who has starred in more than 1,000 films, was arrested in February for supporting the anti-coup movement, his wife said.
The country’s most famous comedian, Zarganar, was arrested on Tuesday, media reported. He was previously arrested in 2008 by the junta and freed in 2011.
Calls to a spokesman for the junta were not answered.
More than 600 people have been killed in the junta’s crackdown on street protests, according to a tally by an activist group.—Reuters
