Security officials have responded to dissent with a brutal crackdown and thousands, including five, were arrested in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, Friday minutes after they were interviewed by CNN journalists, eyewitnesses said.
The CNN team visited the “Ten Miles” bazaar in Yangon’s Insein township, where they interviewed some local residents. Among the interviewees were two women who raised the protest greeting with three fingers.
The couple were arrested by a group of security officials within three to five minutes of leaving the area, according to eyewitnesses.
The women work in a shop on the market. They were taken to Shwe Pyi Thar Interrogation Center, a source close to them said.
In a separate incident on Friday, the team interviewed residents of Yangon’s Mingaladon Market. A man and a woman were arrested after the interview and another managed to get away, according to an eyewitness.
A relative of the two Mingaladon detainees approached the CNN team and told them what had happened. She herself was arrested after the journalists left the area.
CNN reached out to the Myanmar military for comment and was informed that the individuals had been released.
However, sources close to the inmates told CNN on Saturday that at least four women and one man are still being held at the Shwe Pyi Thar interrogation center.
Myanmar’s military junta has shut down all wireless Internet services until further notice, in what appears to be a concerted effort to monitor communications and reporting in the Southeast Asian country.
Pro-democracy protesters have repeatedly filled streets across the country for two months after the government was overthrown by the military.
Deported civic leader Aung San Suu Kyi was charged on Thursday with violating the country’s Official Secrets Act as security forces tried to quell the protests.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) rights group said Friday that since the coup the junta had “disappeared forcibly” hundreds of people – including politicians, election officials, journalists, activists and protesters.
At least 2,751 people, including journalists, protesters, activists, government officials, unionists, writers, students, civilians and even children, have been detained since April 2, according to AAPP, often during night raids.
CNN is in Myanmar with permission from the military and supervised by the military.
“We are aware of reports of arrests following our team’s visit to Yangon, Myanmar yesterday,” a CNN spokesperson said Saturday.
“We urge the authorities to provide information on this and for the safe release of any detainees.”