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Junta
yet to release declared number of political prisoners
The recent release of "115" political
prisoners by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma was
publicized with much fanfare. The
event was described as "the biggest single release" which
according to SPDC spokesman Colonel Hla Min took place "because of
steady progress in national reconciliation."
The elaborate propaganda is actually contrary to the
truth. Only 51 political
prisoners belonging to the National League for Democracy (NLD) and eight
others with other political affiliations have been released so far.
U Lwin, spokesperson for the NLD in a radio interview on 26
November said he had asked Colonel Hla Min about the "exact
number" of released political prisoners and was told, "We have
only freed 60 of them and 55 others have yet to be released."
No one has been freed since that interview.
U Ohn Myint, vice chairman of the NLD's Welfare
Support Committee, also told AFP "the release of some of the
prisoners had been held up after they refused to sign a document
agreeing they would be further penalized if they were sent back to
jail."
The "document" or bond that political
prisoners are made to sign before their release concerns provisions of
"Section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code" that in essence
state a released political prisoner will be made to serve the time that
was remitted if he/she is rearrested for engaging in political or other
activity that the authorities deem to be "anti-government" or
"criminal" in nature. It
is outrageous that the regime is treating prisoners of conscience as
criminals and threatening them with arrest if they get involved in
politics again. Political prisoner releases in Burma are therefore not
unconditional as demanded by the international community, neither are
they acts of benevolence nor can they be taken as signs of improving
political situation in the country.
But, as U Ohn Myint said of the released political
prisoners, "What is so laudable about all of them is their resolve
to continue to be active NLD members even after their traumatic
experience."
The National Coalition Government of the Union of
Burma (NCGUB) lauds the courage of these true patriots who are
determined to continue the struggle for democracy and strongly condemns
the generals in the SPDC who have yet to show any sincerity in wanting
to achieve national reconciliation in the country.
The generals are urged to stop exploiting human misery for their
personal gains and immediately release all remaining 1,400 political
prisoners.
The NCGUB also calls on the international community
to continue stepping up the pressure until genuine political freedoms
are restored in Burma and to refrain from prematurely rewarding the
generals who have until today done nothing substantive but stage smoke
and mirror shows to mislead the world.
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