The junta freed many politicians detained in Mon State but is refusing to release Chief State Minister Aye Zan, who like the others was arrested after the military staged a coup a month ago.

 

"We were ordered to sign an agreement promising not to participate in politics or join protests. If we break this agreement, we'll be charged under the existing laws," Dr Min Kyi Win, the minister of Natural Resources and Environmental for Mon State, told NMG.

 

The parliamentarians were freed on February 26 in the afternoon.

 

The Burma Army arrested the chief minister of Mon State and others on February 1. Aye Zan was kept under house arrest until February 10, when he was moved to another location.

 

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s president, Win Myint, and other key National League for Democracy politicians were detained during early dawn arrests before the first session of Parliament was held to validate the 2020 general election results.

 

Other leaders across the country were also freed, but like in Mon State, the junta kept many of the senior ministers. Some have been convicted in the courts.

 

On Sunday, police fired live rounds at protesters in Yangon, Mandalay and Dawei, killing over a dozen people in the deadliest crackdown by security forces since demonstrations against the coup started.