Ex-Political Prisoner Chin MP Dies at Age 70

29 March 2010: A prominent Chin politician and a Member of Parliament elect and former political prisoner died yesterday at the age of 70 in Kalaymyo. He was admitted to Kalay hospital after suffering from a stroke on February 16.

A member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party Pu Do Thawnga was elected as a Member of Parliament from Kalaymyo constituency (1) during the 1990 general elections in Burma.

After the military regime nullified the results of the elections, Pu Do Thawnga was arrested in May 1996 and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment under Article 5 (j) of the Emergency Provisions Act, a legal instrument frequently used by the military regime to imprison political dissidents.

During the time he was in prison, Pu Do Thawnga suffered physical torture and was struggling with failing health, including from pre-existing conditions of Tuberculosis and heart disease. He was released in 2003.

A health practitioner by profession and a prolific political activist Pu Do Thawnga previously spent two years in jail as a political prisoner from 1971-1973.

Chinland Guardian