NLD Leader Undergoes Operation

Win Tin, 80, a senior National League for Democracy (NLD) leader, underwent an operation for a heart condition at a private clinic in Rangoon on Sunday.

Family members said he is good condition.

Win Tin was hospitalized on Saturday. An NLD spokesperson, Nyan Win, said he may remain in the clinic this week.


A family member told The Irrawaddy on Monday, “He was operated on successfully in Asia Taw Win Clinic last night.”

Win Tin, a former editor, was released from prison in September 2008 after serving 19 years in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison.

He served as an adviser to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and was sentenc
ed to 21 years in prison in 1989 during a crackdown on government opponents.

In 1996, he received an additional 7-year sentence for writing a testimonial on torture and the lack of medical treatment in Insein Prison, which he sent to the UN. As punishment, he was placed in solitary confinement in a room intended for dogs and was deprived of food and water.

He said a few hours after his release from prison, “I will keep fighting until the emergence of democracy in this country.”