YANGON, Oct 13: Myanmar’s junta arrested four prominent political activists on Saturday, Amnesty International said, as the regime defied UN calls for an end to its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Activists Htay Kywe, Aung Htoo and Thin Thin Aye, also known as Mie Mie, were arrested in Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon, after they went into hiding weeks ago to escape a manhunt for protest organisers, Amnesty said.

All three were members of the 88 Generation Students’ Group of student leaders active in a 1988 pro-democracy uprising. A fourth activist, Ko Ko, was also arrested, the London-based rights group said.

The arrests came a day before UN special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, returns to Asia on a mission to coordinate efforts among key governments in the region to help resolve the crisis. He will then head to Yangon.

Amnesty said it did not have details of the arrests, which could not be independently confirmed. It said it feared for the activists’ safety.

“Amnesty International believes that these high-profile opposition figures are at grave risk of torture and mistreatment,” said Daniel Alberman, an Amnesty spokesman. “The eyes of the world are on Myanmar, and the authorities will be judged by how all those who have been detained in recent weeks are treated.”

Allegations have emerged of beatings of detained protesters and deaths under harsh interrogation.

Meanwhile, thousands at a government-staged mass rally in Yangon shouted slogans against Western powers and the foreign media, whom the military regime accuses of fomenting recent pro-democracy protests.

“Down with BBC! Down with VOA! Down with Radio Free Asia!” the crowds chanted at the rally, held amid growing international pressure on the junta to negotiate with the opposition.—AP