Prominent monk freed in Myanmar prisoner amnesty
By Aung Hla Tun. Writing by Jason Szep. Editing by Alan Raybould | Reuters – 13 hours ago

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s government freed a prominent Buddhist monk leader who led 2007 street protests on Wednesday in an amnesty for thousands of prisoners that is expected to include large numbers of political detainees.

The United States, Europe and Australia have said freeing an estimated 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar is crucial for considering lifting sanctions that have crippled the pariah state and, over years, driven it closer to China.

The monk, Shin Gambira, was a leader of the All-Burmese Monks Alliance which played a prominent role in street marches in 2007 that were violently suppressed by the then-military junta. He was 27-years old when he was sentenced in 2007 to 68 years in prison.

Local activist sources said he was released from Kalay Prison, one of many prisoners in the reclusive country where political activists and politicians have been held.

“So far, as we have checked, there are eight political prisoners including Shin Gambira among 400 prisoners released from Kalay today. Our friends have gone to pick them up,” activist lawyer Aye Myint told Reuters by telephone.

Prominent Myanmar monk still jailed
YANGON | Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:42pm IST

(Reuters) – A prominent Buddhist monk believed freed from a Myanmar prison on Wednesday in an amnesty for thousands of inmates remains behind bars following conflicting reports by his supporters.

The monk, Shin Gambira, was a leader of the All-Burmese Monks Alliance which played a prominent role in street marches in 2007 that were violently suppressed by the then-military junta.

He was 27 when he was sentenced in 2007 to 68 years in prison.

Local activist sources initially said he had been released from Kalay Prison, one of many prisons in the reclusive country where political activists and politicians have been held.

But activist lawyer Aye Myint told Reuters that subsequent checks of the prison showed he remained in jail.

“Amnesty International continues to call upon the Myanmar authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally,” the human rights group said in an e-mailed statement.

Myanmar freed at least 300 political prisoners including several prominent dissidents on Wednesday, leaving an estimated 1,800 behind bars, as one of the world’s most reclusive states begins to open up after half a century of iron-fisted rule.

12 October 2011 Last updated at 10:52 ET
BBC News – Burma frees dozens of political prisoners

The Burmese government has freed more than 180 political prisoners as part of a general amnesty, activists say.

A popular comedian and dissident, Zarganar, was among the first to be freed. Some monks and a journalist were also released.

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the amnesty.

The country’s continued detention of about 2,000 political prisoners is a crucial reason why Western nations maintain sanctions on Burma.

The detainees include journalists, pro-democracy activists, government critics, monks involved in anti-government protests and members of Burma’s ethnic groups fighting for greater autonomy.

Zarganar was arrested in 2008 after publicly criticising the government response to Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 140,000 people.

The move is the latest in a series of developments that suggest the new military-backed government is taking some steps towards reform.

There is a very clear divide between those who look at the changes and say they are a first step, but do not go nearly far enough, and others who say they show that the Burmese government needs to be encouraged.

The number of releases was not as high as some diplomats were hoping for.

At some stage, the Burmese president, Thein Sein, is going to want and perhaps even expect some kind of reward and support for the risks he believes he is taking.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after his release, Zarganar was wary of his new-found freedom, describing it as conditional.

“If I do something wrong they will send me back. I’m not happy today because there are so many of my friends still in prison,” he said.

Several hundred political prisoners remain behind bars, including some of the most high profile activists.

Leaders of a failed uprising in 1988 are reportedly still in jail.

A Burmese prison official told the BBC that 300 dissidents had been freed, but this figure has not been confirmed.

Many of those who were released from Insein prison, where many of the political detainees are held, were elderly or infirm.

An ethnic minority militia commander, Sai Say Htan, of the Shan State Army, was among those freed.
Bold step?

Rights group Amnesty International said Burma’s government – a nominally civilian administration dominated by leaders of the former military regime – must free more political detainees if it is seriously committed to reform.

“This release of political prisoners is welcome, but is not consistent with the authorities’ recent promises of political reform in Burma,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Burma researcher, who is based in Bangkok.

“Unless the figure rises substantially, it will constitute a relaxation of reform efforts rather than a bold step forward.”

Britain described the releases as an encouraging first step, and the European Union said Burma was “on the cusp of change”.

The government said on Tuesday that more than 6,000 prisoners would be freed but it was unclear how many would be political detainees.

Ms Suu Kyi, herself freed from 15 years of house arrest last year, said: “We hope many more will be released. I’m really thankful for the release of political prisoners.”

Early reports that one of the monks’ leaders, Shin Gambira, had been released, have now been denied.

He led street protests in 2007 in what became known as the Saffron Revolution, an uprising that was crushed by the previous military government.

Barometer of change

Burma announced an amnesty of 15,000 prisoners in May 2011 and freed more than 7,000 in 2009 – but those moves were criticised by rights groups for failing to include political prisoners.

Burma held its first elections in two decades almost a year ago – polls which saw military rule replaced with a military-backed civilian-led government.

Since then the government has freed Aung San Suu Kyi and held a dialogue with her.

But Nyan Win of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) told the BBC that a prisoner release was not all that was needed.

“The release of political prisoners is just one of the barometers of the government’s seriousness about a change to democracy,” he said.

“There should be other developments like media freedom, and the relaxation of censorship among other things.”

Washington Post – Myanmar releases some prominent political prisoners in amnesty, but keeps others behind bars
By Associated Press, Published: October 11 | Updated: Wednesday, October 12, 8:13 AM

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar freed an outspoken critic and a major ethnic rebel as it began releasing 6,300 convicts Wednesday in its latest liberalizing move, but kept some political detainees behind bars, dampening hopes for a broader amnesty.

It was not clear how many of the country’s estimated 2,000 political detainees were included in the amnesty — one estimate said only 206 of them were freed. But the released included ailing Shan Army commander Hso Hten and comedian Zarganar, who was imprisoned after criticizing the government’s response to Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

“I will be happy and I will thank the government only when all of my friends are freed,” Zarganar told The Associated Press after his release in northernmost Kachin State.
Those held back included student leaders from Myanmar’s failed 1988 democracy uprising and a blogger serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Western governments, the U.N. and Myanmar’s opposition have eagerly awaited a broad political amnesty as a gesture of liberalization by the elected government after decades of harsh military rule. A failure to follow through on those hopes could hamper the country’s efforts to burnish its human rights record and win a lifting of Western economic and political sanctions.

Relatives of convicts held emotional reunions with loved ones outside prisons around the country a day after the country’s new civilian president declared an amnesty for 6,359 inmates — many of them ordinary criminals — on humanitarian grounds, but without disclosing any names.

“The freedom of each individual is invaluable, but I wish that all political prisoners would be released,” said Myanmar’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigner, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy confirmed the release of 155 political detainees, including members of her party, spokesman Nyan Win said. But other dissidents could have been freed without having contacted anyone yet. The U.S. Campaign for Burma, a Washington, D.C.-based support group for Myanmar’s democracy movement, said late Wednesday it had confirmed the release of 206 political prisoners.

President Thein Sein, a retired senior army officer who took office in March, has launched a series of economic reforms and eased limits on freedom of speech by relaxing censorship and unblocking banned websites.

He also has started a dialogue with Suu Kyi, made calls for peace with ethnic minority rebel groups and suspended a controversial China-backed hydropower dam project after a public outcry.

“The pace of change is much faster than I would have expected,” said Monique Skidmore, a Myanmar expert at the University of Canberra. “Thein Sein must be feeling pretty secure.”

But she added that he knows the release of political prisoners must be comprehensive, “otherwise there will be no end to sanctions.”

The human rights group Amnesty International called Wednesday’s releases a “minimum first step,” and said the authorities “must immediately and unconditionally release all remaining prisoners of conscience.”

Among those released were Hso Hten, the Shan Army commander, but another prominent Shan leader, Hkun Htun Oo, was not freed, according to a government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Hso Hten was serving a 106-year prison sentence for high treason following his arrest in 2005.

Zarganar was detained after giving interviews to foreign media criticizing the former military rulers for being slow to respond to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to the media.

“I am not happy at all, as none of my 14 so-called political prisoner friends from Myitkyina prison are among those freed today,” he told the AP by phone as he waited to board a plane to Yangon.

The sister of famous former student leader Min Ko Naing said she was told he was not on the list of those to be freed. “We are used to these ups and downs,” Kyi Kyi Nyunt said.

Min Ko Naing has been serving a 65-year sentence at a prison in Shan State in northeastern Myanmar since 2008 for staging a street protest against a massive fuel price hike. He was arrested in August 2007 along with other well-known former students who were previously jailed after being at the forefront of the failed pro-democracy uprising in 1988.

Activists and relatives said it appeared that most or all of his imprisoned “88 Generation” comrades remained behind bars.

Ashin Gambira, a young charismatic monk who was among the leaders of a September 2007 anti-government uprising, was not on the list of those freed, said Nai Nai, who handles political prisoner affairs for Suu Kyi’s party.

The demonstrations attracted as many as 100,000 people at their height before being brutally suppressed.

The United States, which has been seeking ways to re-engage with Myanmar, has said it wants all political detainees released. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday that the U.S. would be keeping a close eye on who is released under the amnesty.

Washington has long isolated Myanmar with political and economic sanctions because of the former junta’s failure to hand power to a democratically elected government and its poor human rights record.

In Manila, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III urged more democratic reforms.

“There seems to be some opening of the democratic space within Myanmar,” he told a news conference. “We would like more and more of that.”

Change in Myanmar? Prisoner amnesty begins
By Moni Basu, CNN
updated 10:31 AM EST, Wed October 12, 2011

(CNN) — Myanmar released dozens of political prisoners Wednesday, among them a well-known comedian and an ethnic Shan general, the latest in a series of moves that could help the isolated nation normalize relations with the West.

The mass amnesty, which authorities say will eventually free 6,300 prisoners, has helped fuel hope for change in one of the most repressive states in the world.

“The government is striving for emerging good governance and clean government, flourishing of democratic practices, ensuring rule of law, making economic reform and motivating environmental conservation in building a new peaceful, modern, and developed discipline-flourishing democratic nation,” said a statement from President Thein Sein posted Wednesday on the New Light of Myanmar news agency website.

But is the amnesty an authentic step toward liberalization — or another gesture by the new government to appease critics?

Speaking in Thailand this week, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said undeniably, “dramatic developments” were under way in Myanmar that could prompt Washington to improve ties. The United States imposes an embargo on arms and investment in Myanmar, once known as Burma before a military junta took over.

But human rights activists warned against showering Myanmar’s leadership with too many kudos too fast.

Only about 150 of Myanmar’s more than 2,000 political detainees were released in the amnesty, said Thein Oo, a senior member of the National League for Democracy, the party led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Many prominent dissidents remain behind bars.

“If we talk about the change going on in Burma, what I can say is I still don’t believe that Burma is really on the right track,” said Zarganar, the comedian who was released Wednesday. “I’m saying that based on my experience. What I mean is that only a few political prisoners are included in today’s release.”

Also released was Maj. Gen Hso Ten, an ethnic Shan commander who was sentenced to 105 years in prison on sedition charges in 2005, said the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Mark Farmaner, director of the London-based human rights group Burma Campaign UK, said the prisoner amnesty is part of the “mood music” created to soothe the world. Obviously, he said, the amnesty was welcome, but it was hardly signaling the government’s wish for democracy.

“What’s very clear is that Thein Sein is willing to make more concessions in order to get sanctions lifted and get more international legitimacy,” Farmaner said.

Release of Myanmar’s political prisoners remains a key demand of Suu Kyi and a priority for lifting of Western sanctions.

Myanmar, ruled by generals since 1962, denied for decades that political prisoners even existed.

Since Myanmar’s elections in November 2010 — the first in two decades — the nominally civilian leadership has been gingerly reaching out to critics.

“Now I think it would be fair to say the elections themselves were flawed in many critical ways, and we have continuing concerns about a number of developments inside the country,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Monday in a lecture in Bangkok, Thailand.

“But it is also undeniably the case that there are dramatic developments under way,” he said. “We have stated clearly that we are prepared for a new chapter in our relations, and we are watching carefully developments on the ground. And I think it would be fair to say we will match their steps with comparable steps, and we are looking forward over the course of the next several weeks to continuing a dialogue that has really stepped up in recent months.”

Tint Swe, the head of Myanmar’s state censorship, called Friday for greater press freedoms, saying his own office should be shuttered as part of government reforms, reported Radio Free Asia.

In September, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin held a rare, historic meeting with U.S. officials in Washington following what a U.S. State Department spokesman characterized as positive developments after years of discord over human rights and other issues.

A month earlier, Suu Kyi met with Thein Sein at the presidential residence in Naypyitaw and the two vowed to work together in the nation’s interest, state media reported.

The NLD was banned from the 2010 election, but Suu Kyi is fighting to restore her party’s legitimacy.

Myanmar and Western nations have been at odds for years because of Myanmar rulers’ ongoing clampdown on their political foes, most notably Suu Kyi. She spent most of the past two decades in some form of detention before being released a week after last year’s vote.

Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK said the government’s talks with Suu Kyi are also about self-preservation. As long as there are popular protests, the government runs the risk of having to crack down on a growing movement as it did in 2007, when outrage over rising fuel prices escalated to Buddhist monks leading 100,000 people in the largest anti-government demonstrations since 1988.

“He wants to take politics off the streets of Burma and bring it under the parliament’s wing,” Farmaner said about Thein Sein. “He is scared of it being on the streets.”

Joshua Kurlantzick, fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, admitted he was a bit wary about the intentions of a government that in the past has failed to implement reforms. However, he said he is surprised at the scope of the latest developments.

“Given that, this reform has definitely gone beyond what a lot of skeptics expected, including myself,” Kurlantzick said.

As a longtime pariah nation, Myanmar likely wants international recognition, he said.

“It’s important to them,” Kurlantzick said.

“It’s about diversifying their partners,” he said. “They don’t want to be totally reliant on China. It’s about not being dependent.”

But a key issue that is not being addressed, said Farmaner, is rights for Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, some of which have waged armed insurgencies against the Burmese government. Until they are included in dialogue, he said, Myanmar cannot make progress.

Ultimately, Farmaner has a warning for Western nations: Don’t get carried away. Lift some sanctions if you want to send a message of encouragement, he said. “But don’t give away too much, too soon.”

Amnesty in Myanmar: real change or a pleasing gesture?
By Moni Basu, CNN
updated 8:30 PM EST, Tue October 11, 2011

(CNN) — Myanmar announced Tuesday it will grant amnesty to 6,300 prisoners on Wednesday, one in a series of recent moves that could help the isolated nation normalize relations with Western nations including the United States.

But is it really an authentic step toward greater freedoms in one of the world’s most repressive states? Or is it another gesture by the nominally civilian government to appease critics?

Kurt Campbell, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, called it a “dramatic development” that could prompt Washington to consider improving ties. The United States imposes an embargo on arms and investment in Myanmar, once known as Burma before a military junta took over.

But if you ask Mark Farmaner, director of the London-based human rights group Burma Campaign UK, the prisoner amnesty is part of the “mood music” created to soothe the world. Obviously, he said, the amnesty was welcome, but it was hardly signaling the government’s wish for democracy.

“What’s very clear is that (President) Thein Sein is willing to make more concessions in order to get sanctions lifted and get more international legitimacy,” Farmaner said.

The amnesty announcement in state-run media did not make it clear how many political detainees would be included.

Amnesty International has reported that more than 2,200 political prisoners are detained in poor conditions and subjected to torture and cruel treatment.

Their release remains a key demand of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and a priority for lifting of Western sanctions.

There was cause for optimism after a letter to Thein Sein from a new state-appointed human rights panel called for the pardon of “prisoners of conscience who do not pose a threat to the stability of state and public tranquility.”

Myanmar, ruled by generals since 1962, denied for decades that political prisoners even existed.

Since Myanmar’s elections in November 2010 — the first in two decades — its leaders have been gingerly reaching out to critics.

“Now I think it would be fair to say the elections themselves were flawed in many critical ways, and we have continuing concerns about a number of developments inside the country,” Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Monday in a lecture in Bangkok, Thailand.

“But it is also undeniably the case that there are dramatic developments under way,” he said. “We have stated clearly that we are prepared for a new chapter in our relations, and we are watching carefully developments on the ground. And I think it would be fair to say we will match their steps with comparable steps, and we are looking forward over the course of the next several weeks to continuing a dialogue that has really stepped up in recent months.”

Tint Swe, the head of Myanmar’s state censorship, called Friday for greater press freedoms, saying his own office should be shuttered as part of government reforms, reported Radio Free Asia.

Last week, the government suspended the Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River — annoying the Chinese but pleasing Suu Kyi and environmental activists, who had been vocal opponents.

In September, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin held a rare, historic meeting with U.S. officials in Washington following what a U.S. State Department spokesman characterized as positive developments after years of discord over human rights and other issues.

A month earlier, Suu Kyi met with Thein Sein at the presidential residence in Naypyitaw and the two vowed to work together in the nation’s interest, state media reported. Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, said then that he thought the meeting “may be the first step towards reconciliation.”

The NLD was banned from the 2010 election, but Suu Kyi is fighting to restore her party’s legitimacy.

Myanmar and Western nations have been at odds for years because of Myanmar rulers’ ongoing clampdown on their political foes, most notably Suu Kyi. She spent most of the past two decades in some form of detention before being released a week after last year’s elections.

Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK said the government’s talks with Suu Kyi are also about self-preservation. As long as there are popular protests, the government runs the risk of having to crack down on a growing movement as it did in 2007, when outrage over rising fuel prices escalated to Buddhist monks leading 100,000 people in the largest anti-government demonstrations since 1988.

“He wants to take politics off the streets of Burma and bring it under the parliament’s wing,” Farmaner said about Thein Sein. “He is scared of it being on the streets.”

Joshua Kurlantzick, fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, admitted he was a bit wary about the intentions of a government that in the past has failed implement reforms. However, he said he is taken with the scope of the latest developments.

“Given that, this reform has definitely gone beyond what a lot of skeptics expected, including myself,’ Kurlantzick said.

A longtime pariah nation, Myanmar, he said, likely wants international recognition.

“It’s important to them,” Kurlantzick said.

“It’s about diversifying their partners,” he said. “They don’t want to be totally reliant on China. It’s about not being dependent.”

But a key issue that is not being addressed, said Farmaner, is rights for Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, some of whom have waged armed insurgencies against the government. Until
they are included in dialogue, he said, Myanmar cannot make progress.

Ultimately, Farmaner has a warning for Western nations: Don’t get carried away. Lift some sanctions if you want to send a message of encouragement, he said. “But don’t give away too much, too soon.”

Brisbane Times – Burma extends an olive branch to the West by freeing political prisoners
Lindsay Murdoch
October 12, 2011

BANGKOK: Burma has edged closer to normalising relations with Western nations, including Australia, after releasing more than 120 political prisoners in a sign of reform after almost 50 years of isolation under brutal military rule.

The Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, last night described the release of the prisoners as a ”milestone by which the international community will judge Burma’s progress towards reform”.

Human rights groups welcomed the amnesties but called for the release of all 2000 people who have been imprisoned in Burma on political grounds.

Among those freed were supporters of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and prominent comedian Zarganar, a vocal government critic.

”I would like to ask him why he is so stingy,” Zarganar said at Rangoon airport when asked if he had a message for Burma’s President, Thein Sein. ”There are many people still in prison to be released.”

Crowds turned out to greet the performer, who flew back to Rangoon yesterday afternoon from Myitkyina in the far north of the country, where he has been held.

Zarganar, who has a cardiovascular illness, was sentenced to 59 years in jail in 2008 after criticising the former military junta for its slow response to cyclone Nargis which left 138,000 people dead.

Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, which was denied power after winning elections in 1990, said some of its supporters were among 6359 prisoners who were being freed in an amnesty that was announced on state-run radio and television on Tuesday.

Also freed was U Gambira, a monk who played a leading role in street marches in 2007 that were brutally suppressed by the then-military junta. He was 27 when he was sentenced in 2007 to 68 years in jail. A complete list of the freed political prisoners has not been made public.

Relatives of the student leader Min Ko Naing said they believed he was not among those being freed. Human rights groups said that before the amnesty there had been about 2000 political prisoners in Burma’s jails.

Mr Rudd told the leaders of Burma’s military-dominated civilian government during a visit to the country in July the release of a substantial number of political prisoners was crucial to the country moving towards normalising relations with countries such as Australia.

The US and the Europe Union have long demanded the release of political prisoners as a condition for lifting economic sanctions in the country also known as Myanmar.

The prisoner release follows Burma’s surprising announcement last month to stop work on a huge Chinese-funded hydroelectric dam project in the country’s north, which angered China.

Analysts and diplomats have speculated that Burma’s government is seeking to realign its previously close relationship with China as it campaigns to lift the Western nation sanctions and win regional support to chair the 10-member Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014.

The reformist Mr Thein, a former general, is this week visiting India, which has long competed with China for influence and business.

Since Mr Thein Sein took office in March the government has eased restrictions on websites and the media, passed trade union laws and opened talks with Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate. Ms Suu Kyi has said she was cautiously optimistic about the government’s intentions to implement genuine political and economic reform in the country of 50 million mostly impoverished people. Her reaction to the amnesties will guide international response, analysts said.

The vice-chairman of Ms Suu Kyi’s party, Tin Oo, said the amnesties represented an important break from the past but noted previous governments had also released prisoners.
Earlier, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said she had been encouraged by ”promising signals” of reform.

MSNBC – Myanmar frees about 300 dissidents, many still in jail
updated 10/12/2011 7:13:00 AM ET

YANGON — Myanmar freed at least 300 political prisoners including several prominent dissidents on Wednesday, leaving an estimated 1,800 behind bars, as one of the world’s most reclusive states begins to open up after half a century of iron-fisted rule.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking to Reuters before a general amnesty for 6,359 prisoners including political detainees, said she was encouraged by “promising signals” of reform but that it was too early to announce steps Washington might take in response.

The United States, Europe and Australia have said freeing Myanmar’s political prisoners is essential to even considering lifting sanctions that have crippled the pariah state and, over years, driven it closer to China.

A senior prison official told Reuters a total of about 300 dissidents were freed on Wednesday.

“We hope many more will be released,” said Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, herself freed from 15 years of house arrest last year. “I’m really thankful for the release of political prisoners,” she told supporters.

After weeks of rare overtures, including a loosening of some media controls and more dialogue with Suu Kyi, the number was less than many had expected, raising questions over how soon and how fast the former British colony is willing to open up, under pressure for change on multiple fronts, including popular resentment at China’s new influence.

“It is disappointing,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher based in Bangkok. “We had reason to expect, given the rather fast and qualitative steps that have taken place over the past several months, that today’s release would be more substantial numerically.”

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has released dissidents only to detain them again, but with more freed than in the past, there was reason to believe this time would be different.

The army nominally handed over power in March to civilians after the first elections in two decades in November, a process mocked at the time as a scripted sham to seal authoritarian rule behind a democratic facade.

Since then, President Thein Sein, a retired general but the first civilian head of state in half a century, has begun a number of reforms, including calls to win over restive ethnic minorities, some tolerance of criticism and more diplomacy.

MANY STILL BEHIND BARS

The most prominent freed dissident appeared to be Zarganar, a comedian who goes by one name and was arrested in June 2008.

He was sentenced to 59 years in a remote prison after criticizing the then-ruling generals for their sluggish response to Cyclone Nargis, which killed more than 140,000 people when it devastated the Irrawaddy delta a month earlier.

Also freed was Sai Say Htan, an ethnic Shan leader sentenced to 104 years in prison in 2005 for refusing to help draft a new constitution, prison sources and relatives said.

Believed to be in his late 70s, Sai Say Htan was a leader of the Shan State Army, which fought for decades against successive military regimes that ruled following a 1962 coup.

“His health has been in very bad condition for a long time, a Yangon-based Shan politician told Reuters.

Many more remained in jail, including a group of activists who led a failed 1988 uprising.

Diplomats in Yangon said more political prisoners may well be freed over coming months after a new national human rights commission called on the president in an open letter published in state media on Tuesday to release prisoners who did not pose “a threat to the stability of state and public tranquility.”

Myanmar has faced pressure from the need to find alternatives to China in the face of popular resentment of its influence, to growing frustration in Southeast Asia over Myanmar’s isolation as the region approaches an EU-style Asian community in 2015.

Myanmar’s infrastructure is in shambles and its sanctions-hit economy has few sources of growth beyond billions of dollars of investment from China, a historic rival whose growing economic influence in the country is stirring popular resentment.

Myanmar also appears to be trying to convince the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to allow it to take its rotating presidency in 2014, two years ahead of schedule and a year before the next general election.

Hosting ASEAN would give Myanmar a degree of international recognition and help convince the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to return to the impoverished nation.

“This is part of a process that is aiming for international acceptance and removal of sanctions which will allow access to international financial institutions that will benefit the government and the elite,” said Bertil Lintner, a Thailand-based author and expert on Myanmar.

Nestled strategically between powerhouses India and China, Myanmar is blighted by decades of inept military rule and starved of capital despite rich natural resources, from gems and timber to oil and natural gas.

Last week, the government suspended a $3.6 billion, Chinese-led dam project, a victory for Suu Kyi’s supporters and a sign the country was willing to yield to popular resentment.

These moves have raised hopes the new parliament will slowly prize open the country that just over 50 years ago was one of Southeast Asia’s wealthiest.

“We’re encouraged by the steps we see the government taking … we’re going to take them at their word,” Clinton said in an interview in Washington. “But we want to see actions. And if they are going to release political prisoners, that would be a very positive sign.”

Daily Telegraph – More than 200 Burmese political prisoners released
More than 200 Burmese political prisoners were released yesterday in a significant step forward for the country’s carefully choreographed reconciliation between its democracy movement and the military-backed government.
By Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok and Dean Nelson in New Delhi
3:48PM BST 12 Oct 2011

Among them were a number of figures from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and several famous dissidents, including the comedian activist Zarganar.

The former Nobel Peace prize winner yesterday launched a diplomatic campaign to drum up support for the government’s move despite disappointment voiced by a number of human rights groups who had hoped more would be released. She persuaded Western leaders to echo her cautious welcome in an attempt to strengthen the hand of President Thein Sein, who is now firmly regarded as a reformer, against conservative figures in his government and the military.

Western diplomats yesterday said any disappointment must be seen in the broader context of recent sweeping changes including the ongoing talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and
the government to restore full democracy; the president’s decision to abandon widely-opposed plans for a Chinese-built hydroelectric dam on the Irrawaddy River; and the lifting of restrictions on the internet and media freedom. In a sign of how far things have come in such a short space of time, news stands are reportedly selling a magazine featuring Ms Suu Kyi on the cover with the headline ‘The Future’.

The priority for Western governments is to support the NLD leader and the president to maintain the momentum.

“The president appears to be genuine and has supporters within the government for his agenda of economic and political reform but there are some elements in the government who question the decision and it’s difficult to get a sense of how the forces are balanced,” said one official.

William Hague, the foreign secretary, said he welcomed the move which he described as an “encouraging first step.” Britain will remain in contact with Ms Suu Kyi and closely monitor developments, he added.

Earlier, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said she was buoyed by the promising signals “but we want to see actions,” she said.

There were conflicting reports over how many dissidents were among the 6,359 inmates released. A senior prison official told the Reuters news agency 300 had been freed, while the NLD put the figure at 155. The respected exile group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP) counted only 132 by early evening, while Amnesty International put the number at around 120. Diplomatic sources put the figure at more than 200.

They were thought to include Shin Gambira, 31, one of the key figures in the monk-led 2007 “saffron revolution”, though the AAPP later said it was sure the monk, sentenced to 68 years in 2007 was not among those freed.

Several ethnic Shan leaders were released, including General Shwe Tin who was allowed to go free with ailing septuagenarian Sai Say Htan, who was serving a 104 year jail term for refusing to support a new constitution.

There was deep disappointment however that prominent leaders of the “88 Generation” who led the 1988 student uprising, most particularly Min Ko Niang, was not among those released, though according to Amnesty International another, Zaw Htet Ko Ko, was freed.

The comedian-activist Zarganar emerged from Myitkyina jail to voice his anger that many of his dissident friends were not leaving detention with him. He was sentenced to 35 years in jail for taunting the regime’s stuttering response to Cyclone Nargis which struck in 2008 killing 140,000.

“I am not happy at all, as none of my 14 so-called political prisoner friends from Myitkyina prison are among those freed today”, he said. “I will be happy and I will thank the government only when all my friends are freed.”

NLD leader Ms Suu Kyi echoed his sentiments. “The freedom of each individual is invaluable, but I wish that all political prisoners would be released,” she said.

ABS-CBNNEWS.com – Philippines urges Myanmar to do more on democracy
Agence France-Presse
Posted at 10/12/2011 4:57 PM | Updated as of 10/12/2011 4:57 PM

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino urged Myanmar’s government on Wednesday to go further with democratic reforms, as he welcomed recent political developments
in the military-dominated nation.

“The things that they committed to do seem to have been happening already,” Aquino told reporters in reference to promises by Myanmar’s rulers to open up the country’s political system.

“There seems to have been some opening of democratic space. We would encourage them to continue to do so.”

Aquino noted that pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed in November after seven straight years of detention, had not been detained again, while at least one opposition gathering had been allowed.

His comments came as Myanmar’s government freed about 120 political prisoners, according to Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, under a broad amnesty.

Comedian Zarganar, one of Myanmar’s most famous dissidents, was among those released.

The Philippines has been among the most vocal critics of Myanmar’s rulers within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbors.

Myanmar remains under broad sanctions imposed by Western nations on the former military regime, which handed over power to a nominally civilian government in March following a controversial election last year.

But President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signalling a series of political reforms since taking power.

October 12, 2011
Amnesty International – Myanmar government must go further with prisoner release

The release of at least 120 political prisoners in Myanmar today is a minimum first step, and authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all remaining prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International said today.

Prisoners of conscience make up the majority of the political prisoners still jailed after the measure.

“This release of political prisoners is welcome, but is not consistent with the authorities’ recent promises of political reform in Myanmar,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.

“Unless the figure rises substantially, it will constitute a relaxation of reform efforts rather than a bold step forward.”

Since late 2007, some 2,000 people have been imprisoned on political grounds in Myanmar, about half of them because of their peaceful participation in that year’s “Saffron Revolution”. Among those released today is Zaw Htet Ko Ko, a member of the 88 Generation Student Group and a participant in those demonstrations. In September 2009, a prisoner amnesty included 127 political prisoners.

“Today’s amnesty does not distinguish Myanmar’s new government from its previous military government,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

“If Myanmar’s authorities are serious about demonstrating their commitment to reform, this must be only the first step towards a release of all political prisoners as soon as possible.”

Amnesty International noted that if authorities have reason to believe that political prisoners have committed an internationally recognized offence, they should give them a prompt, fair, and public trial.  Otherwise, they should release them unconditionally and without delay.

“They should not try them on spurious charges or hold them indefinitely,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

In Myanmar, political prisoners are regularly charged under vaguely worded laws, mostly relating to security or public order concerns, which allow excessively broad interpretation by the authorities.

Prison conditions in Myanmar fall far short of many international standards.  Food, water and medical care are insufficient; many political prisoners are held far away from their families; and most have been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement.

“Releasing some political prisoners is a positive measure, but reforming Myanmar’s repressive judiciary and security apparatus is long overdue,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

Amnesty International called on the Myanmar authorities to follow through today’s prisoner release by ending repression of political activism.

“Many of the prisoners released today are likely to continue their political activity, and they should not be thrown in jail again for exercising their basic rights,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

In the past, many political prisoners have been re-arrested shortly after being released.  Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar’s political opposition, was released from house arrest in November 2010 after spending over 15 of 21 years in detention—having been detained and released three times.

In his 27 September 2011 statement to the UN General Assembly, Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin stated that the “steps taken by Myanmar are concrete, visible, and irreversible”.

“Myanmar must not only uphold this claim, but improve its human rights record, including ceasing widespread and systematic violations against ethnic minority civilians,” said Benjamin Zawacki.

“Any meaningful claim by the authorities to political reform in Myanmar must involve putting an end to crimes against humanity against their own population.”

Amnesty International continued to call for an international Commission of Inquiry into serious international crimes in Myanmar.

UN News Centre – Myanmar: UN helps Government devise disaster mitigation plans
Margareta Wahlström, Assistant Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction

12 October 2011 – A senior United Nations official arrived in Myanmar today to help the Government devise measures to reduce the impact of natural disasters through early warning systems and other steps in a country where an estimated 140,000 people were killed and 2.4 million others affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

“Myanmar is one of the most disaster-affected countries in Asia,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction Margareta Wahlström said in a statement issued ahead of her visit.

“It has been hit by six major cyclones in the last 40 years and is also vulnerable to multiple hazards such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and forest fires.

“UNISDR is willing to assist in whatever way we can to help the country reduce its risk which is fundamental to inclusive economic growth and poverty alleviation, which are part of the new government’s reform agenda,” she added, referring to UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, which she heads.

“UNISDR is supporting Myanmar in making disaster risk reduction a national and local priority for all citizens through engagement with the new National Disaster Preparedness Committee on developing law and regulations for disaster management and disaster risk reduction,” Ms. Wahlström added.

“I am looking forward to hearing how the responses to Cyclone Giri last year and the Shan State earthquake in March this year benefitted from the many lessons learned from Cyclone Nargis especially in early warning, preparedness and response.”

Giri, a category four cyclone, killed at least 45 people and affected 260,000 others when it struck Myanmar last October, and three months later UN humanitarian agencies reported that key challenges remained, including inadequate shelter, food insecurity and lack of livelihoods.

Ms. Wahlström is due to visit areas that were affected by Nargis.

Inquirer.net – ?Aquino urges Myanmar to do more on democracy
Agence France-Presse
5:19 pm | Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III urged Myanmar’s government on Wednesday to go further with democratic reforms, as he welcomed recent political developments in the military-dominated nation.

“The things that they committed to do seem to have been happening already,” Aquino told reporters in reference to promises by Myanmar’s rulers to open up the country’s political system.

“There seems to have been some opening of democratic space. We would encourage them to continue to do so.”

Aquino noted that pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed in November after seven straight years of detention, had not been detained again, while at least one opposition gathering had been allowed.

His comments came as Myanmar’s government freed about 120 political prisoners, according to Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, under a broad amnesty.
Comedian Zarganar, one of Myanmar’s most famous dissidents, was among those released.

The Philippines has been among the most vocal critics of Myanmar’s rulers within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) neighbors.

Myanmar remains under broad sanctions imposed by Western nations on the former military regime, which handed over power to a nominally civilian government in March following a controversial election last year.

But President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signalling a series of political reforms since taking power.

Posted on 12th October 2011
iNewsOne – ?Amid China tension, India, Myanmar to expand ties

New Delhi/Gaya, Oct 12 (IANS) Myanmar President U. Thein Sein Wednesday began his maiden visit to India that is expected to scale up political and economic cooperation between the two countries amid Yangon’s tension with Beijing over a mega dam.

Thein Sein began his visit to India, the first since he became president last year, from Bodh Gaya and will also be going to neighbouring Buddhist pilgrimage destinations, including Kushinagar, before touching down in New Delhi Thursday evening.

He will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday that will focus on intensifying economic, energy and strategic ties between the two countries. Counter-terror and security cooperation will figure prominently in the discussions.

A clutch of agreements are also expected to be signed.

The discussions will also focus on key transport projects that will accelerate connectivity between Myanmar and India’s northeast states.

Besides oil and gas, the two sides are also expected to explore greater cooperation in agriculture as Myanmar possess vast tracts of arable land. Thein Sein will visit the Indian Agriculture Research Institute Saturday morning before heading back to Yangon.

Thein Shein, a former general in Myanmar’s Army, touched down on a day when the government in Yangon released several political prisoners as part of a general amnesty, bolstering the new regime’s reformist credentials.

In fact, ever since he assumed power, Thein Shein has taken a slew of steps, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, that has struck a chord both domestically and internationally.

These reformist steps are set to make it easier for India, which has earlier been defensive about deepening ties with the military establishment, to develop stronger economic and energy ties with Myanmar.

Significantly, Myanmar’s president, like his Vietnamese counterpart, is in India at the same time when both countries are having their share of trouble with an assertive Beijing. Thein Shein surprised many when he last month ‘postponed’ a decision on the $3.6 billion Chinese-financed Myitsone hydro-electric power project, sparking speculation about a growing rift between Beijing and Yangon.

GMANews.TV – Hillary Clinton: US sees ‘promising signals’ in Myanmar
10/12/2011 | 09:04 AM

WASHINGTON – The United States is encouraged by “promising signals” of political reform in Myanmar, but it is too early to announce steps Washington might take in response, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday.

Clinton, in an interview with Reuters, suggested Washington is watching closely events in the reclusive Southeast Asian nation, where there have been hints of political liberalization after decades of repression and military rule.

Myanmar authorities are expected to release a number of political detainees on Wednesday.

“We want to see actions. If they are going to release political prisoners, that would be a very positive sign,” Clinton said.

But asked what the United States might do, short of lifting U.S. sanctions on Myanmar, to encourage reform, Clinton said, “It’s a little premature for us to announce what we might or might not do.”

Still, she cited “some promising signals,” including the regime’s continued dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and the suspension of a $3.6 billion Chinese-led dam project in response to popular resentment.

Asked whether the apparent changes were the result of a strategic shift on the part of Myanmar’s leaders, or merely tactical moves, Clinton replied: “I don’t know the answer to that.”

The Irrawaddy – The Most Influential Burmese Dissidents Not Yet Released
By BA KAUNG Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Although some prominent political prisoners were released on Wednesday morning under an amnesty granted by Burma’s President Thein Sein to over 6,000 prisoners, the country’s most influential imprisoned dissidents, the leaders of the 88 Generation Students group, were not reported to be among them.

The government released Zarganar, the famous dissident comedian, and Shan ethnic leader Sao Hso Ten, who was serving a 106-year sentence. But influential 88 Generation Students group leaders such as Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, who are both serving 65-year jail terms in remote prisons in Shan State, were not included in the political prisoners released thus far.

Around 2,000 political prisoners are currently incarcerated in Burma, but only about 100 were reported to have been released by mid-Wednesday afternoon, according to Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“We are grateful for the release of even one political prisoner, but I heard only around a hundred prisoners are released until now,” she said at a gathering with former political prisoners in Rangoon this morning. Although welcoming the news that some political prisoners had been released, she called on the government to release those remaining behind bars as well.

The middle-aged 88 Generation Students group leaders played a key role in Burma’s 1988 anti-government uprising. They were arrested after leading a protest march against an increase in fuel prices just prior to the mass protests led by Buddhist monks in the 2007 uprising known as the Saffron Revolution, and they still wield heavy influence among the public and political opposition.

Min Ko Naing’s sister, Kyi Kyi Nyunt, told the Associated Press that her brother said he was not on the list of political prisoners to be set free.

“We are used to these ups and downs,” she said.

Kyaw Khin, a prison official from Burma’s most infamous Insein Prison in Rangoon, said that 642 prisoners are being released from the prison today and only seven of them are political detainees.

The exact number of political prisoners who will be among the more than 6,000 prisoners that the government announced it will release has not been reported or officially announced.

Win Tin, a leading senior member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy who spent 19 years in jail as a political prisoner, said that he strongly disapproves of the way the government is releasing political prisoners on par with ordinary convicts.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy following his release from Myitkyina Prison in the north of Burma, Zarganar said that he didn’t know he would be freed until Wednesday morning and feels sad because his fellow political prisoners are still in jail.

“Until late last night, I wanted to believe in the positive changes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken about,” said Zarganar. “But this morning, I lost belief in them because I saw that the government does not have a true desire to release all political prisoners.”

He said that despite the election last year in which a small number of opposition parties won a handful of seats in Parliament, Burma has a “mono-party” democracy rather than a multi-party democracy.

“The current system is not real democracy, so I will continue to work both as an entertainer and in the political arena,” he said. “For me, they are interrelated.”

INTERVIEW
The Irrawaddy – ‘Since This Morning, I Lost Belief’
Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Zarganar, a well-known Burmese dissident and popular comedian, was released from prison Wednesday morning under a government amnesty for over 6,000 prisoners. Over the past two decades, he was frequently jailed or detained for his political activities as well as for making satirical jokes about Burma’s military rulers. Prior to his release, he was serving a 24-year prison sentence in Myitkyina Prison in northern Burma for publicly criticizing the slow and ineffective government relief efforts in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

The Irrawaddy spoke with Zarganar on Wednesday, shortly after he was reunited with his family in Rangoon.

Question: How were you treated in prison? Did you face any torture?

Answer: Prison conditions are not as bad as during the 1990s, when I was first jailed. I wasn’t tortured, and the prison officials didn’t even verbally insult us. But we never had any visit from the ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross).

Q: Did the government make any deals with you before you were released?

A: Not at all. They came and told me about my release at 5 a.m. When I was told that I was being freed, I even jokingly asked if that meant my soul was free from my body.

Q: There were rumors during the past three months about your possible release. Did you hear about them?

A: No. I haven’t heard anything about it. But when we heard about the announcement of amnesty on the radio, I never thought I would be among those released.

Q: What are you going to do now that you are free?

A: Since I believe that art and politics are interrelated, I will continue to do both of them. We have long demanded a multi-party democracy, but what we have now is a “mono-party” democracy. Since the current system is not genuine democracy, I will continue to do both politics and art.

Q: There has been talk of positive changes taking place in Burma, and the US and the European Union have made positive statements about the meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein. What is your take?

A: I wanted to believe in these positive changes that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke about. But since this morning, I lost belief in them because I found that the government does not have a true desire to release all political prisoners. They are not really enthusiastic about the release of political prisoners. They even hesitated to release me. Why don’t they release all political prisoners? Is there any cost to them in releasing the political prisoners? Since the cases of the political prisoners did not take place during the rule of U Thein Sein’s government, all of the political prisoners must be released if the government wants to strive for a genuine democracy.

I want all political prisoners to be released. Not only Min Ko Naing [the detained 88 Generation Students group leader], but also all other political detainees. I lived with four Buddhist monks who were jailed but are not well known to many people. I want them to be released too. Also the famous Buddhist monk Ashin Gambira, and other detainees such as Gen Khin Nyunt [the purged military intelligence chief who is still under house arrest].

Last members of notorious Burmese Scorpion gang granted amnesty
Wednesday, 12 October 2011 18:50 Mizzima News

(Mizzima) – Five former members of the now- defunct Scorpion gang, who were arrested for allegedly supporting the now-deceased grandsons of former dictator Ne Win and committing crimes in Rangoon, were released from two prisons under a presidential amnesty on Wednesday.

The five former gang members were the last members who were still serving their prison terms.

Nan Wai, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison at age 22 for illegal gang association and committing crimes, was released under the presidential amnesty after he served nearly 10 years in prison. Four Scorpion members including Nan Wai were released from Insein Prison and one member was released from Tharyarwaddy Prison.

In 2001, the authorities destroyed the gang and arrested 22 members. Two of them died in prison. Members who were sentenced to 12 years in prison were released in early October.

The Scorpion gang was involved in fighting other groups and allegedly involved in a murder. Zaw Zaw Htet was identified as the gang’s leader.

On Wednesday, more than 400 prisoners were released from the notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon under the presidential amnesty. Among them were 100 female prisoners, according to Thet Shay, the deputy director of the Directorate of Prison and Insein Prison chief.

Thet Shay avoided using the word “political prisoners,” and he refused to say how many political prisoners were released from the prison.

Mizzima News – Comedian Zarganar says political prisoners are like ‘hostages’
Wednesday, 12 October 2011 18:30 Kyaw Kha

(Interview) – Mizzima correspondent Kyaw Kha talked by telephone with Burmese comedian Zarganar, who was released from Myitkyina Prison and arrived back at his home in Rangoon on Wednesday.

Question: When did you learn that you would be released from prison?

Answer: While we were sleeping. They woke us up at around 5:30 a.m. and told me that I was released. Then I left the prison.

Q: What are your plans now? Will you continue to take part in politics, social activities and artistic activities?

A: Regarding the three fields, I’ll continue those activities. Those are all activities I’m interested in, so I’ll continue.

Q: Why do you think the new government released ordinary prisoners and some political prisoners?

A: Only [President] Thein Sein knows why we were released. I was released, but I don’t know why.

Q: When you were in prison, did you know much about the new government’s actions?

A: In the prison, we can read newspapers and journals. I knew about some things from the newspapers and journals.

Q: What do you think about the new government?

A: Earlier, it satisfied me a little. But according to today’s conditions regarding the amnesty, I am not satisfied. As you see, they are releasing political prisoners little by little; so we are like the victims in the hands of Somali pirates. What is their ransom demands? The situation is like that.

Q: What other political prisoners were in Myitkyina Prison?

A: With me were Myo Aung Thant, who was also released. He was imprisoned 14 years ago. Zin Min Tun was also released. He was arrested in the “Saffron Revolution” and imprisoned four years ago. And many political prisoners are still in [Myitkyina] prison. There are four monks: Thiha Thet Zin from Bogale; Zayyar Aung from Pegu; Myo Min Than from Bagan; and Kyi Soe from Taungtha.

Q: What would you like to say about the political prisoners still in the prison?

A: If all [political prisoners] are released that will be the best moment. Then it will be an opportunity to do activities and express our feelings. I’ll wait for that that time. We will work in order that all are released.

Q: How were prison conditions like including health services and food?  Does it improve?

A: Yes, it is very different [from earlier]. The conditions have improved from before. The health service is also OK. Doctors can be available. I have nothing to criticize about it. It’s good. I was imprisoned four times and this last time I felt as though I were in a religious hall.

Q: What is your opinion on the Thee Lay Thee traditional dance troupe?  You were once a member, and some members have returned to Burma.

A: Now, besides me, there are two Thees: Sein Thee and Zee Thee. The Thees who are in a foreign country are Pan Thee, Kyel Thee and Mee Thee. People will see we all are united again and we will entertain. With my return, everything will be OK. I’ll lead all of them.

Burmese gov’t and Mong La group renew relations, sign agreements
Wednesday, 12 October 2011 15:17 Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Mong La group will be allowed to reopen its liaison offices following peace talks held on Saturday with a Union-level peace delegation led by Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Secretary Aung Thaung.

Since 2009, the government has demanded the transformation of Mong La forces into a Border Guard Force, but during the peace talks the matter was not discussed, said Mong La delegates.

“Both sides held discussions on cooperation in reopening of liaison offices, reassignment of staff for ensuring better education, health, agriculture and transport in Special Region (4) and the elimination of illegal narcotic drugs, and signed agreements,” the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday.

The peace talks were held in Shan State Special Region (4). According to the newspaper, the meeting at the headquarters of the Triangle Regional Military Command in Kengtung was attended by a Mong La delegation led by Vice Chairman San Pae, with 10 delegates on each side.

The government delegation included the chairman of the National Race Affairs and Internal Peace-making Committee, Thein Zaw; the Shan State Chief Minister Sai Aung Myat; Shan State Security and Border Affairs Minister Colonel Aung Thu; and the Shat State Advocate General Maung Maung, according to the Sino-Burmese observer Aung Kyaw Zaw, who is close to the Mong La group.

Prior to the peace talks, government delegates including Aung Thaung and Thein Zaw and the Mong La group’s delegates held an initial meeting in Kengtung, in which issues including a cease-fire and regional development were discussed. The government specified that the initial meeting was a regional level meeting.

During a 10-year cease-fire period, which was broken in 2009, there were more than 100 government civil servants including agricultural workers, doctors and teachers in the Mong La headquarters. The cease-fire was broken because of the former junta’s order to transform the Mong La group into a Border Guard Force, and the junta ordered civil servants to leave the area.

The National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, aka Mong La group, comprises Shan, Palaung and Akha people. It has an estimated 3,000 soldiers and its area has been specified as Special Region 4. The Mong La group is active in Kengtung District, Mong Yawng, Mong Hpayak Township, and on a section of the Mekong River near Burma’s border with China and Laos.

In accordance with another agreement, Special Region 4 area will remain restricted and Mong La troops will be required to inform authorities in advance if they want to cross into other areas.

The state-run newspaper reported on Tuesday that the Mong La group said that it would never secede from the Union and oppose the State.

The Burmese government is also engaged in peace talks with the United Wa State Army (UWSA). Recently, a government delegation led by Aung Thaung and Thein Zaw met with the UWSA on two occasions.

The 2008 Constitution says that the Union Defence Services is the sole defence force in the country. The former junta’s efforts to force ethnic armed groups to transform themselves into a Border Guard Force or people’s militia to be operated under the Defense Services was rejected by most ethnic armed groups.

Since previous cease-fires with ethnic armed groups were broken, the government has fought against the Kachin Independence Organization, the Shan State Army-North and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Association.