11 November 2024 — 430 residents of Namtu Township in northern Shan State have signed a petition urging the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) to immediately release the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) former member of parliament (MP) Win Hlaing.
U Win Hlaing (aka U Me Tu), the former NLD MP for Namtu Township, was taken from his home in Namtu Town by TNLA troops on 2 September 2024, who said they wanted to question him. More than two months later the TNLA still has not released him.
As a result, 430 residents of Namtu Township signed a petition calling on the TNLA and its political wing, the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) to release U Win Hlaing. It was sent to Tar Bone Kyaw, the Secretary General of the PSLF/TNLA, on 31 October.
A Namtu Township resident who also signed the petition said: "Locals have tried multiple times to discuss this issue with TNLA officials, but the township officer of the TNLA seemed unwilling to engage with us. As a result, we sent a petition for the first time. We decided to take this step because the public's previous efforts were repeatedly ignored.”
Win Hlaing is from Bawdwin Village, about 20 kilometres west of Namtu Town. He was elected as the Shan State Hluttaw (Parliament) MP for Namtu Township in the 2015 and 2020 elections.
Even following the coup, he remained an active participant in Namtu Township's education, healthcare, and community development activities, according to locals.
Another source, a Namtu Town resident, said that the TNLA has given no reason for for U Win Hlaing's arrest and that he should not have been detained for so long without a reason being given for his detention.
He said: "When he was first detained, everyone thought the TNLA only had a few questions for him and that he would be released within a couple of weeks at most. But he still hasn’t been released. Why is someone who is actively working for community development being held for so long without committing any crime?”
KNG tried phoning the PSLF/TNLA press officer but received no response.
Some suspect that U Win Hlaing was arrested by the TNLA because of his opposition to the Ta'ang Land Education Council's (TLEC) plan to open a school in Namtu Town.
After the PSLF/TNLA took full control of Namtu Township on 28 December 2023, it barred the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) from the area. It also prohibited anyone with ties to the NUG from participating in local governance and community development and instead gave former junta government employees roles in the township’s general administration, a move criticised by residents of Namtu Township.
