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Release of prisoners a token gesture
Irrawaddy - September 21, 2009
See Burma's Forgotten Prisoners - Human Rights Watch. September, 2009
Saw Yan Naing – Last week, the Burmese military regime announced it was granting amnesty to 7,114 prisoners. But among the thousands of hardened criminals was no more than a handful of political prisoners – 127 to be precise. And among that group, no major players were released.
Looking back at the junta's policy of granting amnesty over the years, we can see that political prisoners are always a very small minority of those released.
In 2004, out of 14,318 prisoners freed in an amnesty, 60 were political dissidents. In 2005, however, a sizeable proportion of those released – 341 out of 400 – were political prisoners.
After 2005, the percentages returned to normal: in 2007, only 20 political detainees out of 8,585 convicted prisoners were released; in 2008, nine out of 9,002; and in February this year, just 31 political prisoners were released along with 6,293 convicted criminals.
Indeed, the actual number of political prisoners released under the amnesties can never be independently confirmed – the figure is usually exaggerated and, in some cases, according to former senior intelligence officers, the numbers are related to the junta leaders' obsession with astrology and numerology.
On top of the regime's refusal to release leading political dissidents is the blatant timing of amnesties to coincide with outside events.
In February 2009, the junta announced an amnesty for prisoners just after UN Human Rights Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana left Burma following an official visit.
This month, the Burmese prison authorities declared that about 250 political detainees would be among 7,114 freed detainees.
This announcement came three days before Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein flew to New York to attend the UN General Assembly. Another indication of the regime's current leaning is that it usually sends foreign ministers to New York.
As the regime prepares for the election in 2010, its leaders are taking steps to convince the UN and the international community about the merits of their "road map to a disciplined democracy," including, of course, the "democratic" process they are undertaking via the 2010 election.
Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said that the regime only released prisoners with the aim of easing international pressure. However, he said, key dissident leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, Min Ko Naing and ethnic Shan leader Khun Htun Oo remained in detention.
A member of the underground All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Aung Tun, who was released after serving 11 years in prison, said that the regime only released political prisoners whenever it was facing an international crisis.
Commenting on the junta's recent amnesty, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, repeated his call for the Burmese government to take further steps to ensure the release of the remaining 2,100 political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, as a necessary step toward a credible process of national reconciliation and democratic transition.
As part of the recent amnesty, 127 political prisoners have been released, including four monks, four journalists and one lawyer. Observers note that the junta mainly freed those who were charged under certain criminal codes, including 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act, and Section 17/1 of the Illegal Organization Act.
It has been confirmed by sources that Burmese intelligence officers who have been detained since the removal of intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt were among those released on Friday.
Bodaw Than Hla, the former chief astrologer to Khin Nyunt, was released, and The Irrawaddy also learnt that Maj Myo Nyunt Aung, a former intelligence officer, was among those freed from Mandalay Prison.
Several former intelligence officers, most of whom were charged under Section 5(j) of the Emergency Provisions Act, were also released. But high-ranking officials charged with treason remain imprisoned.
Debbie Stothard, the coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean) said, "This is a common trick of the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council], to release political prisoners when there is a lot of international pressure. But, the problem is that they keep re-arresting them in the future.
So, we have to be very clear that these political prisoners are released unconditionally," she said.
Some observers also pointed out that the junta deliberately ignored the major issue of releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic political leaders. They said that the regime wanted to keep Suu Kyi out of the picture ahead the 2010 election.
"Of course, for the individual political prisoners and their families, they are happy that they [the prisoners] are released. But for the future of the country, the SPDC should release all the political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the ethnic leaders," said Stothard. A veteran journalist based in Rangoon said that the release is very welcome news for family members who were waiting to see their loved ones. "They are unjustly charged and detained," he said.
When asked whether the move will win hearts and minds in the international community, the senior reporter replied bluntly that only the governments in the West, Asean and the UN "will be fooled into welcoming the regime's gestures, because they are naove."
While the Burmese regime holds more than 2,000 political prisoners, it shows no sign of loosening its grip. Meanwhile, a crackdown on dissidents is continuing.
Last week, seven Burmese activists and five Buddhist monks were detained in Myingyan Township in Mandalay by Burmese military authorities.
As Buddhist monks called for peaceful marches in the coming weeks, the regime increased its security around Rangoon.
Many of the political prisoners who have been released vowed to continue to fight injustice even though they were locked up for years.
It seems no matter how often the regime offers amnesties, Burma's jails will never be empty of political dissidents.
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