About 300 political prisoners are among the 7,000 people Myanmar’s (formerly Burma) military junta announced this week it plans to release, the UN announced on Friday.
Despite welcoming the release of political prisoners, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jeremy Laurence, complained that “22 others were arrested” on the day of the announcement.
On Wednesday, marking the 75th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence, the military junta, which regularly pardons prisoners on holidays, announced it would release 7,012 people, without specifying whether they included political dissidents.
“Of that number, there are about 300 political prisoners,” Laurence told a press conference in Geneva, adding that 195 cases had been verified.
The Association for Assistance to Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local organization, today released the same estimate of 300 political prisoners, saying it has confirmed “the release of 223 identified political prisoners” so far.
The military coup of 1 February 2021, which toppled the government of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kiy and sparked mass protests and repression, ended a brief period of freedom in the Southeast Asian country with a turbulent history.
Of the nearly 17,000 people arrested since the coup, more than 13,000 are still in custody, Lawrence said, signaling that the High Commission was planning to publish a report on the situation in the country.
This week’s release of political prisoners in Myanmar is “a relief for those wrongly detained, but also for their families”. enforces military rule,” he declared.
The junta is preparing for new elections later this year, which the United States previously described as “a farce”.
“To get Myanmar out of the crisis, we must not imprison people, but allow them to participate freely, fully and effectively in political life,” said the spokesman for the High Commissioner.
Laurence denounced the continued arrests of dissidents and pointed out that many are victims of torture and ill-treatment.
“These arrests are not only intended to silence the critics of the junta, but also to instill fear,” he said.
Source: DN
