YANGON: Myanmar's military said Wednesday (Dec 3) it arrested a man who sent anti-election messages in a private Facebook chat, wielding laws that rights groups say curb personal liberties to crush dissent.
The junta snatched power in a 2021 coup which plunged Myanmar into a many-sided civil war, but it promises that polls starting in late December will move the country towards peace and democracy.
Deposed lawmakers excluded from the vote, human rights monitors and guerilla rebels opposing the junta have dismissed the election as a charade to disguise continuing military rule.
Ahead of the poll the military government introduced broad new legislation including clauses punishing protesting or criticising the election with up to a decade in prison.
A junta statement said 58-year-old Khaing Soe from Bogyoke village near Yangon was arrested under the law on Friday.
He "was exposed and arrested for writing texts on Messenger using his 'Khaing Soe' Facebook Account with the intent to frustrate election processes and mislead the public", it said.
The statement provided few details about the alleged offence, including how authorities may have accessed his messages on the private Facebook Messenger app.
"Action is being taken to ensure he receives an effective penalty," it said.
Two other men were also arrested -- one for a Facebook post and one for vandalising an election billboard -- while 11 other cases were opened against groups or individuals, the statement added.
The junta has opened more than 100 cases under the election disruption law, according to an AFP tally.
However some are targeting rebel fighters operating beyond the military's reach.
UN rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence warned last week that "the military has stepped up mass electronic surveillance to identify dissidents" ahead of the widely criticised election.
Myanmar has historically been ruled by the military, but enjoyed a decade-long democratic thaw starting in 2010 that saw Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi become an elected figurehead.
She was toppled and has been sequestered in jail since the February 2021 putsch.
Her party has been dissolved and will not appear on ballots when voting begins on Dec 28 in a phased election expected to last around one month. - AFP
