A state funeral was held for the late acting President Myint Swe at the military cemetery in the capital Naypyidaw on Monday.
The 74-year-old retired army general and vice president under the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, ousted in the 2021 military coup, passed away while receiving treatment for Parkinson’s disease and “neurodegenerative conditions” at a military hospital in Naypyidaw on Aug. 7.
A regime official told DVB that nearly 5,000 staff were “ordered” to attend the funeral. A Naypyidaw resident told DVB that regime authorities paid up to 10,000 MMK ($2 USD) for people to attend.
The resident added that each ward had to send 20 people to the funeral. Regime media reported that Min Aung Hlaing, deputy leader Soe Win, and former President Thein Sein were in attendance.
The National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) stated on Aug. 5 that Myint Swe was placed in the intensive care unit at the No. 2 1,000-bed military hospital on July 24, almost one year after he was placed on medical leave due to his reported “neurological disorders and peripheral neuropathy” on July 18, 2024.
Min Aung Hlaing assumed the duties of acting president from Myint Swe, who took up the role only after NLD President Win Myint was jailed during the coup on Feb. 1, 2021. Veteran lawyer Kyi Myint told DVB that this move violated the 2008 constitution as the president is immune from imprisonment on any criminal or civil charge.
Myint Swe was accused of ordering the authorities to crackdown on protesters during the 2007 “Saffron Revolution” led by Buddhist monks while he was the commander of the Yangon Regional Military Command (RMC).
Myint Swe was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department following the 2021 coup and subsequent arrests of President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Myint Swe is survived by his wife and two children.
