Myanmar actor Arrested for Supporting Anti-coup Protests

In this file photo from April 4, 2021, young protesters take part in an anti-coup masks strike in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo via The Associated Press.

A prominent Myanmar actor, singer, and model who has endorsed the country’s anti-coup protests was arrested on Thursday, his sister said, as the board seeks more than 100 celebrities for supporting the movement.

The country has been rocked by daily protests since the military took power on February 1, and the authorities have launched a bloody crackdown on dissent, with hundreds killed and more than 2,500 arrested.

Paing Takhon, 24, a star in both Myanmar and neighboring Thailand, has been active in the protest movement both in person at rallies and through his massive followers on social media.

“About 50 soldiers with eight military trucks” came to arrest him from his mother’s home in Yangon’s North Dagon area early Thursday, his sister Thi Thi Lwin posted on Facebook.

“As he is seriously ill, they arrested him calmly and without violence. We do not know where they took him,” he added.

According to recent posts on his social media, where he had more than a million followers on Facebook and Instagram, Paing Takhon has been in poor health.

“I have not been in good health for many days. I used to pray every time I worshiped Buddha for good health and for peace in Myanmar as soon as possible,” he wrote on Wednesday.

In February he posted photos of himself in a white tracksuit with a megaphone, helmet, and a fluffy white dog tied to his chest at a protest.

“Help us stop crime against humanity,” he posted on Instagram in February.

His social media pages have been removed, although it is unclear if he did so himself.

Paing Takhon is also famous in Thailand and has appeared in commercials and television shows.

In January, he shaved his head and briefly joined the Buddhist monastery, posting photos of himself in burgundy robes.

Myanmar authorities have released a list of some 120 celebrities wanted for arrest, including singers Lin Lin and Chit Thu Wai, actors Phway Phway, Eaindra Kyaw Zin and Pyay Ti Oo, and model May Myat Noe.