Irrawaddy-Dec 17
U Khin Yi, a former Myanmar military general and the junta’s Immigration and Population Minister, organized a series of rallies before and after the February 1 coup during which so-called military sympathizers went on the rampage in Yangon, punching and stabbing those who denounced them, according to U Soe Thane, a former minister in U Thein Sein’s government. Some 22 pro-military demonstrations between January 21 and February 25 were organized by U Khin Yi, 11 rallies before the coup and 11 afterwards, according to the second volume of U Soe Thane’s book The Second Democratic Government and Myanmar. U Soe Thane was a USDP candidate in the 2020 general election and he dedicates a section of his book to what he calls “U Khin Yi’s efforts”, in which he details where the pro-military rallies took place and how many people participated in them. The rallies targeted the Union Election Commission (UEC), following its announcement of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party’s landslide victory in the 2020 poll. According to record books dropped at the scene, many of the participants were believed to be hired to attend the rally, and paid a wage of 3,000 to 7,000 kyats (US$2.10-US$5) each for their presence. However, there were no pro-junta rallies for several months after the February 25 demonstration that ended in violence and bloodshed. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-ministers-masterminding-of-violent-pro-military-rallies-revealed.html
