In Myanmar, a Facebook post deemed inflammatory led to an ex-minister’s arrest

BANGKOK — A former high-profile Myanmar army officer who had served as information minister and presidential spokesperson in a previous military-backed government has been arrested and charged with spreading false or inflammatory news, a statement from the current military government said Sunday.

In a statement sent to journalists, the military’s information office said 64-year old Ye Htut, a retired lieutenant colonel, was arrested for violating Section 505(A) of the penal code, a provision called “incitement,” for writing and spreading false news on his Facebook social media account.

His arrest came the same month a Myanmar military tribunal sentenced two high-ranking generals to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of high treason, accepting bribes, illegal possession of foreign currency and violating military discipline.

Those sentences appeared to be the harshest so far for the senior members of the military’s administrative bodies that were set up after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than 2 1/2 years ago. The country has been in turmoil since then, with widespread armed resistance to military rule, which the army has been unable to quash despite its superiority in weapons and manpower.

Myanmar’s military leadership is known for being close-knit and secretive, and this month’s arrests are a rare public indication that there may be splits within its ranks.

Ye Htut was the spokesperson from 2013 to 2016 for President Thein Sein in a military-backed government and also information minister from 2014-2016.

The offense he is charged with makes it a crime to publish or circulate comments that cause the public to hate the government and the military, a definition that allows prosecution of anyone the authorities deem to have made offending remarks. It is is punishable by up to three years in prison.