In July 2025, the Burma/Myanmar military regime once again demonstrated its repressive power through the arrest of labour activists from the Solidarity Trade Union of Myanmar (STUM). Among those arrested was STUM leader Myo Myo Aye (F), Thin Htet San (F), Myint Myint Khaing (F), Su Myat Nwe (F), Thiha Tun (M), Zaw Htike (M), Zaw San Naing (M), Kyaw Thet Naing (M), Hay Mhan Oo (F), and June Two Maung (F). Myo Myo Aye’s daughter, Chue Thwel (F), was also arrested and subjected to serious intimidation.

It is suspected that this latest repressive action is a continuation of the political persecution against Myo Myo Aye and STUM. In 2021, the Burmese authorities declared 16 trade unions and labour activist organisations illegal, including STUM. Since then, STUM has remained steadfast in its struggle for workers’ rights, despite increasingly repressive and violent conditions.

The arrest of Myo Myo Aye also reflects a recurring pattern of persecution she has faced. She was previously detained for six months between April and October 2021 for organising protest—accused of encouraging workers to join the protest under Penal Code section 505(a), and this time the repression has extended to her daughter, Chue Thwel, STUM staff members, and the sealing of the union’s offices, illustrating the junta’s systematic efforts to silence the labour movement, weaken the organisation, and intimidate prominent human rights defenders.

Timeline of the Arrest 

On the night of 21 July 2025, plainclothes officers stormed the Shwepyithar home of Myo Myo Aye, leader of the Solidarity of Trade Union Movement (STUM). She was arrested in front of her family and led away in handcuffs. Her daughter, Chue Thwel, was forced to kneel at gunpoint until Myo Myo surrendered her phone. Officers ransacked the house, seizing money, household registration documents, and other belongings. That same night, STUM’s office was raided. Laptops, phones, and other devices were confiscated, and Chue Thwel was interrogated about the union’s Facebook account.

On 26 July, Chue Thwel confirmed that her mother had been taken to an interrogation centre. Later that day, security forces returned to STUM’s office, searching for Chue Thwel, seizing more equipment, and sealing the premises.

On 27 July, Chue Thwel said she was still unable to send her mother medicine or clothes. The repression escalated on 28 July, when Chue Thwel and three other STUM staff were taken by the same group of officers who had arrested Myo Myo. Facing mounting pressure, STUM decided to delay public communication. Authorities also officially sealed STUM’s office, including an office of STUM’s affiliate organisation, Solidarity of Township Garment Labour Organisation. Then, another STUM member was arrested, deepening the wave of detentions that has increasingly targeted union leaders and members.

Systematic Repression of Myanmar’s Labour Movement 

These arrests are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of repression by the military regime against the labour movement in Burma/Myanmar, especially since the 2021 military coup. The military has systematically targeted trade unions and civil society organisations that advocate for social justice and workers’ rights. In October 2022, military leader enacted the Registration of Associations Law (SAC Law No. 46/2022), a measure widely used to restrict and criminalise the activities of civil society groups and trade unions.

These actions violate fundamental human rights and international legal standards. Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. Although Burma/Myanmar has not ratified the ICCPR, these norms form part of customary international law and are binding. Furthermore, the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials emphasise that the use of force must be proportionate, legal, and necessary. The arbitrary arrests of civilians, including pointing a gun at Myo Myo Aye’s daughter, clearly violate these principles.

Moreover, the right to freedom of association and to organise is a fundamental right protected by ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98, which are global standards for labour protection. The arrests of STUM leaders and members signify a systematic effort to dismantle trade unions and suppress the collective power of workers. Burma/Myanmar ratified C.87 in 1955 but the military regime enacted Registration of Association Law in 2022 which is in conflict with C.87. The Registration of Association Law features prior registration/ authorisation requirements and broad prohibitions—No organisation may carry out activities that harm the sovereignty, law and order, security, and ethnic unity of the State—this allows them to arrest individuals or organisations who respond to natural disasters without approval. It also features controls on funding and international cooperation and operations—they will seize any organisation with no limit to trade union and press organisation. In addition, the law features criminal penalties that could impersonate individuals for up to three years. The military regime weapons this law against not only STUM and other trade unions but also against the wider social and democratic resistance including journalists and women’s human rights activists.

These arrests are not only a domestic issue of Myanmar but also a grave human rights violation with global implications. International organisations and institutions have a responsibility to ensure there is no impunity for human rights violations, including those committed by the Myanmar military.

In response to this brutality, we, the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), urgently call on all civil society organisations, trade unions, women’s human rights organisations, and human rights defenders to stand in solidarity and demand: 

  1. The immediate and unconditional release of labour activist Ma Myo Myo Aye, her daughter Chue Thwel, and the eight other STUM activists who are still being detained.
  2. The end of all forms of intimidation, violence, and criminalisation against the labour movement.
  3. The halt of systematic union-busting, which is a blatant violation of fundamental human rights and international legal standards

Read our other statement:

https://apwld.org/call-for-the-release-of-burmese-union-leader-myo-myo-aye-stum-activists/

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