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Political prisoners' release remains uncertain
Irrawaddy - August 26, 2011
According to state-run The New Light of Myanmar (NLM), officials in Naypyidaw told the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Thursday that "political prisoners will be released when they are certain not to disrupt the nation's stability and peace."
The statement was reportedly made by Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint in response to a question by Quintana regarding the detention of political prisoners and Shan politicians, land confiscations, and the teaching of ethnic languages at schools.
On Friday, NLM quoted Khin Aung Myint as saying: "The present government is very moderate; that any government [sic] does not want to put its people behind bars, sacrificing the labor of the nation."
According to NLM, Quintana told government officials during his visit to Naypyidaw that Burma is on the right track toward reforming into a democratic country. He said that the UN secretary-general, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations, and the people who report on the human rights situation in the country are urging the government to release political prisoners because it is the main key in the formation of a democratic country.
However, despite the House Speaker's statement regarding the release of political prisoners, Burma's Chief Justice Tun Tun Oo was quoted in NLM as saying: "There is no prisoner serving a term for his belief. Prisoners are all serving their terms for the crimes they have committed."
Tun Tun Oo said that the country's judges should stay away from politics and, under the present judicial system, they must handle cases in accordance with the constitution. He also said that the judiciary is one of the three sovereign powers of a nation.
At a press conference on Thursday evening to conclude his five-day visit to the country, UN envoy Quintana said that serious human rights issues remain in Burma despite positive steps by the authorities. He urged the government to intensify its efforts to implement its own commitments and to fulfill its international human rights obligations.
"Another concern is the continuing allegations of torture and ill treatment during interrogation, the use of prisoners as porters for the military, and the transfers of prisoners to prisons in remote areas where they are unable to receive family visits or packages of essential medicine and supplemental food," Quintana said. "In Insein prison, I heard disturbing testimonies of prolonged sleep and food deprivation during interrogation, beatings, and the burning of bodily parts, including genital organs. I also heard accounts of prisoners being confined in cells normally used for prison dogs as means of punishment," he added.
Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), said that the Burmese government has been lying to the international community for a long time by saying that there are no political prisoners in Burma.
"The use of the words 'political prisoners' is included even in prison guards' handbooks," he said. "Some prison directors still use the expression. When the government says there are no political prisoners, it shows that their activities and their words don't match."
According to AAPP data, there are more than 2,000 political prisoners in the country.
Burma's opposition National League for Democracy, which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi, already addressed with Quintana issues surrounding the 2003 Depayin Massacre when dozens of party members were killed by a pro-government mob.
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