Thursday, 13 October 2011 16:25 Thea Forbes
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) - United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has called on Burma’s government to release all remaining political prisoners.
"It's very important that the government finish with this process of release before the elections," Quintana told Reuters. Burma will hold by-elections by the end of this year, in which 40 constituencies will be contested. The Union Election Commission has not yet announced a date for the by-elections.
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| U.N. special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana reads a press statement while on a visit to Burma. Photo: Mizzima |
The unconditional release all political prisoners in Burma has long been a requirement for many Western governments before they would consider a transition to democracy legitimate.
Some observers have called the government’s efforts so far “half-hearted.” The release on Wednesday of only a small number of political prisoners has likely reinforced such viewpoints.
Amnesty International on Wednesday called the release a “minimum first step.” Amnesty Burma researcher Benjamin Zawacki warned that unless the government significantly increased the number of political prisoners freed it would “constitute a relaxation of reform efforts rather than a bold step forward.”
“The release of all political prisoners is a key test for judging whether the Burmese government is serious about claims it is reforming,” said Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, a campaigns officer at Burma Campaign UK, and the daughter of political prisoner Ko Mya Aye, who was not released on Wednesday.
“These releases are not enough to justify the lifting of any sanctions,” she said.
Although high profile prisoner Zarganar was released on Wednesday, many National League for Democracy members, leaders of the ’88 generation students, and 2007 “Saffron Revolution” leaders remain in jail.
Burma’s government has been criticized for its draconian laws that enable it to easily repress political activists.
On September 26, about 200 protestors who donned yellow T-shirts and tried to peacefully march through Rangoon to commemorate the “Saffron Revolution” were ordered to disperse by government authorities and security forces. Existing laws that prevent more than five people assembling and demonstrating were cited for the
dispersal.
Quintana told Reuters that Burmese officials told him they did not want to release political prisoners because they were worried about public demonstrations.
Quintana last visited Burma in August this year when he met with government ministers including Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and Deputy Minister for Home Affairs and chairman of the newly founded Myanmar Human Rights Commission, Lieutenant General Ko Ko. He also had an hour-long meeting with the National League for Democracy.
Officials have called on Burma’s government to establish its own mechanism for investigating human rights abuses in the country, with a view to ending the problems of impunity and lack of accountability, particularly in the case of the military.
On September 14, at the end of a five-day visit, U.S. Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma Ambassador Derek J. Mitchell said, “I affirmed the importance of establishing a legitimate and credible mechanism for investigating reported abuses in ethnic areas as a first step toward building trust and promoting national reconciliation through accountability.”
The U.N. special rapporteur first called on the UN to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma in March 2010.
Quintana will submit a report on Burma to the UN General Assembly on October 19.
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