Myanmar police arrest opposition party executive

Police in Myanmar's western Rakhine state arrested a member of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party Tuesday, a party official said.
"Nyi Pu was taken from his home early Tuesday morning," said Thein Naing, a senior official of the National League of Democracy in Rakhine.
"Police said they want to question him but it is not clear what they want to know," he said.
Police could not be contacted for more information on the arrest, because it was unclear exactly which officers detained Nyi Pu and where he was being held. Myanmar police also do not usually release statements.
Nyi Pu's arrest came four days after the anniversary of 1988 pro-democracy protests that were violently suppressed by the military. The only public demonstration known to have taken place in Myanmar to mark the occasion Friday took place in Rakhine.
Nyi Pu is the chairman of the Taunggok branch of the NLD party. Authorities detained 48 demonstrators who took part in Friday's peaceful march through the township, but released all but five the same day.
Taunggok and other parts of Rakhine state are hotbeds of anti-government sentiment. Buddhist monks in the area joined pro-democracy rallies that swelled into nationwide protests last September.
At least 31 people were killed in the country's largest city, Yangon, when the military crushed last year's protests, sparking global outrage. Rakhine has hosted some of the bigger pro-democracy protests held in Myanmar in the past year, while most of the country remains subdued.
Authorities also arrested prominent human rights activist Myint Aye, who has been arrested and imprisoned at least five times in the past 20 years.
No reason was given for the arrest on Friday.
The Aug. 8, 1988 protests brought down longtime dictator Ne Win, but a new group of generals replaced him and brutally crushed demonstrations in September, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
The protests propelled Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, into the political limelight, and led to the founding of her National League for Democracy to challenge army rule.
Elections were held in 1990, but the military refused to recognize the NLD's landslide victory. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent more than 12 of the past 19 years in detention and is currently under house arrest in Yangon.