Rapper Imprisoned After Referring to Myanmar Ministers as “Incompetent Fools”
A well-known rapper in Myanmar named Min Oak Myanmar (also known as Byuhar) has been taken into custody for criticizing the junta’s ministers.
The 38-year-old rapper criticized the Myanmar military on social media, calling the junta’s ministers “incompetent fools” due to the worsening power shortages in Yangon, the country’s main city. He also gave them his home address as a challenge to arrest him.
He was arrested on May 24 at his residence in the North Dagon neighborhood of Yangon.
In a Facebook video, Byuhar, in a social media outburst, thanked the deposed and imprisoned Aung San Suu Kyi regime for delivering “24-hour electricity, not only that, but the electricity bill was also going down during her five years in office.”
Voice of America reports that his arrest has sparked worries for his safety because the Myanmar military held him without communication for five days.
Byuhar’s family was finally allowed to visit him by the police after they initially denied knowing where he was.
His wife told VOA, “I took our two kids to see him there. He was being held at the North Dagon police station.”
His wife told VOA in an interview on Monday that her husband was unable to obtain legal representation because the military had proclaimed their neighborhood to be in a “state of emergency,” allowing civilians to be convicted in military courts.
The government’s crackdown on numerous artists who have spoken out against the system is evident in the rapper’s arrest.
An artist named Phyo Zaya Thaw was executed by the military last year for his participation in the anti-coup movement.
