Myanmar Union Leader Detained Amid Renewed Crackdown on Activists

The Irrawaddy

Myanmar’s military regime has arrested prominent labour rights advocate Daw Myo Myo Aye, founder of the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar, along with her daughter and six others, in what appears to be a fresh clampdown on dissent.

According to sources cited by The Irrawaddy, Daw Myo Myo Aye was taken from her home in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Township on Friday night. She has not been heard from since. Her daughter, Chuu Thwel, was reportedly detained on Monday after raising concerns about her mother’s disappearance on social media.

That same day, junta troops stormed the trade union’s local office, arresting six members—three men and three women. Their current location and the reasons for their detention remain unknown.

Daw Myo Myo Aye, a long-time advocate for workers’ rights, was previously imprisoned following the 2021 military coup for her involvement in anti-regime protests. She spent around six months in Insein Prison, much of it in solitary confinement without access to legal counsel or medical care, before being released under a general amnesty.

The Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar, founded in 2016, works to defend workers’ rights and promote freedom of association—principles now under severe threat in the junta-ruled country.

Labour and human rights groups have condemned the latest arrests, viewing them as part of a broader campaign by the junta to silence organised resistance and dismantle civil society.

As Myanmar prepares for an election widely dismissed as illegitimate, activists fear a growing wave of pre-emptive detentions targeting community leaders, unionists, and anyone capable of mobilising public opposition.

-2025-07-31