Burma frees high-profile dissidents in amnesty
Burma frees high-profile dissidents in amnesty
Several high-profile dissidents have been set free in Burma in the latest of a series of prisoner amnesties.
Those freed include veterans of the 1988 student protest movement, monks involved in the 2007 demonstrations and ethnic-minority activists. The highest profile is Min Ko Naing, a leader of the failed 1988 uprising.
State TV had announced that 651 prisoners would be freed under a new presidential pardon, but did not say how many would be political prisoners.
Burma has faced calls from the international community to free more dissidents.
The BBC's South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey says the names of those released read like a who's who of Burma's most prominent political detainees.
Eyewitness
The atmosphere was buzzing. Hundreds of people had gathered outside the gates of Rangoon's main Insein prison. They waited for two hours, occasionally chanting slogans - "welcome, welcome political prisoners".Some brought white jasmine garlands to place around the necks of freed prisoners. It wasn't just families of political prisoners - there were hundreds more and they were cheering.
Among those freed, we found monks who participated in the 2007-2008 "saffron revolution". They had been disrobed and made to wear layman's clothes. There were student activists and members of Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party. Altogether, 82 prisoners were released from Insein. Other prominent student leaders are said to have been released from prisons in other districts and are on their way back to Rangoon now.
Prisoner releases had been expected, but the inclusion of such prominent figures meant this was still a surprise.
Given the stature of those set free, this could be the most significant breakthrough yet in Burma's moves towards reform, she says.
But some Burmese exiles and campaign groups say the real test will be how much freedom recently released prisoners will have to continue their political activities, our correspondent adds.'Positive sign'
Min Ko Naing was considered by many to be the highest profile political dissident still behind bars.
A crowd greeted him as he emerged from prison in Thayet, 545km (345 miles) north of Rangoon, the Associated Press reported.
Another veteran member of Burma's 88 Generation Students, Nilar Thein, confirmed to the BBC that she had been freed from Tharya Wadi prison.
The activist served eight years in prison after the 1988 demonstrations and was jailed again in 2008 for 65 years for illegally using electronic media.
"I'm healthy and happy to be released and happy to see my baby," she told the BBC, referring to her daughter, born the year before her imprisonment. "I was released today along with nine other political prisoners in Tharya Wadi prison but there are still 25 more left inside," she said.
Her husband, Kyaw Min Yu, known as Ko Jimmy, has also been freed, as well as Htay Kywe, a student activist jailed in 2007 for 65 years.
Former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, who was detained in a purge in 2004, is released from house arrest.
U Khun Tun Oo, the most senior political representative of the Shan, the largest of Burma's ethnic minorities, is also free.
The precise number of political prisoners in Burma's numerous jails is disputed, but if the pattern of this latest amnesty continues, the majority of those broadly accepted as "prisoners of conscience" will soon have been freed, the BBC's Rachel Harvey says.
'Rope around my neck'
There were scenes of jubilation outside Insein prison in Rangoon
"We welcome the release. Some [dissidents] are on their way home already," AFP news agency quoted a spokesman as saying.
Five of those released were journalists from the exiled broadcaster Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
One of them, Sithu Zeya, said he was wary of the conditions placed on his release.
"I have been released with a rope around my neck," he said, pointing out that the charges against him had not been lifted.
He said he wanted to resume his work as a journalist but was afraid the government would not allow it.
Burma Campaign UK said the release was "undoubtedly a major step", but urged the international community not to forget those political prisoners left behind in Burma's jails.
"The way in which political prisoners are being released raises concerns that rather than releasing political prisoners because it is the right thing to do, they are being treated as bargaining chips in a tit-for-tat process in getting sanctions lifted and gaining international legitimacy," it said in a statement.
"Some of those released today have been arrested and released on several occasions to try to avoid international pressure."
Reform process
Burma's new government has freed a number of political prisoners since embarking on a process of reform.
The military-backed civilian government came to power in November 2010, after the country's first elections in 20 years. Before that Burma was governed by a military junta.
It has freed Aung San Suu Kyi and entered into dialogue with her and her National League for Democracy party. Ms Suu Kyi is now expected to stand for parliament in a by-election in April. Western nations have welcomed the reform process but called on the government to release political prisoners and resolve ethnic conflicts in border regions before sanctions can be eased.
No official tally of the number of political prisoners is available but prior to Friday's releases opposition groups estimated that up to 1,500 remained in custody.
The releases come a day after the government signed a landmark ceasefire with a rebel group.
The ceasefire was agreed at talks with the Karen National Union (KNU) in Hpa-an, capital of eastern Karen state. The Karen have fought for greater autonomy for more than 60 years.
With courtesy of BBC
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