The National League for Democracy (NLD) Mandalay Division office closed on Saturday after local authorities applied pressure on the landlord, a member of the division's organizing committee said on Wednesday.
He told The Irrawaddy that the pressure to close the office began after the March 29 decision by the NLD not to register as a political party, and thereby face dissolution.
“The authorities put pressure on our landlord not to provide her three-story house anymore, and they asked her to comply as soon as possible,” said Myo Naing, a member of the Mandalay organizing committee.
All NLD offices across the country were closed by the authorities after the Depayin massacre in May 2003. The officies were only allowed to reopen on March 10, in preparation for the 2010 election, but only weeks later NLD members voted to not take part in the national election, citing its lack of fairness and inclusiveness, and saying that barring of party leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners from party membership and voting was undemocratic.
Myo Naing said the Mandalay office first opened in 2002 and the contents of the office have been moved to the home of a NLD member, who is also now under pressure from authorities.
On Monday, the NLD executive committee in Rangoon organized a 17-member management committee to handle arrangements for the party's possessions after it is dissolved, said Tin Oo, the NLD vice-chairman.
According to the new electoral and party registration laws, political parties that fail to register before the 60-day deadline will be dissolved.
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"Once her [Aung San Suu Kyi's] sentence expires in November, and that notion is not disputed, it is our understanding that she will have served her sentence."
