Burmese junta releases nearly 4,000 prisoners

Burma’s military junta released at least 19 political prisoners, including pro-democracy party members, as part of a group of nearly 4,000 inmates it said were wrongly charged by an intelligence agency.

The prisoners included at least three senior members of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party and 72-year-old journalist Win Tin, said Bo Kyi, a Burma dissident who runs an aid group for political prisoners in neighbouring Thailand.

The release of Win Tin, who had been in custody for 14 years, could not immediately be verified independently.

The United Nations’ special envoy on human rights in Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said in a statement that he welcomed the releases and hoped all political prisoners would be freed.

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan welcomed the announcement “and is encouraged by reports that a number of people detained for political activities are included among them”, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said in New York.

“The secretary-general considers the release an important step towards creating an environment conducive to genuine national reconciliation in Myanmar,” Eckhard said. “He hopes that this step will be followed by the release of the remainder of those detained for articulating their political beliefs, including all those who are still under house arrest.”

Before the announcement, Burma – renamed Myanmar by its military leaders - was estimated to be holding more than 1,200 political prisoners, many of them belonging to the NLD.

There was no indication that Suu Kyi would be freed from house arrest in Rangoon. She has been detained since May last year after a deadly clash between her followers and government supporters.

The World Association of Newspapers welcomed the reported release of Win Tin, the winner of the organisation’s 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom Award.

“We now call on them to free all other journalists and human rights activists who are being unjustly held for their views.” said Timothy Balding, director general of the group, which promotes press freedom worldwide.

An NLD official said at least seven party members were released from Yangon’s Insein Prison yesterday.

A witness outside the prison said a total of about 200 prisoners were freed, most of whom were serving short terms for criminal offences.

State-run radio and television announced late on Thursday that 3,937 prisoners were being freed who had been wrongly charged by the former National Intelligence Bureau, an umbrella organisation of internal security organisations that was dissolved by the junta last month.

The bureau had been headed by former Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt, who was ousted on October 19. He has since been accused of corruption and insubordination.

Suu Kyi’s party won a 1990 general election, but the military refused to accept the outcome.