Burma frees deputy opposition leader

Burma’s military government has freed the 82-year-old deputy leader of the pro-democracy party led by Aung San Suu Kyi after nearly seven years in detention.

The release today of Tin Oo, who helped found the National League for Democracy with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, comes shortly before a UN envoy visits the country. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

Tin Oo spent nearly seven years in prison and under house arrest. The junta had renewed his detention on an annual basis since his arrest in 2003, with his latest term expiring today.

After his release, Tin Oo said he hoped Suu Kyi would also soon be freed, and vowed: “I will continue to work for democracy.”

Wearing the peach-coloured traditional jacket of the National League for Democracy, Tin Oo said he was “very hopeful” Suu Kyi would soon be released, noting that in 1995 he was released from an earlier stint in prison not long before Suu Kyi herself was set free.

The United Nations’ special envoy to Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is to arrive in the country on Monday to evaluate its progress on human rights issues. Human rights groups say the junta still holds some 2,100 political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.

Tin Oo was arrested along with Suu Kyi on May 30, 2003 when a pro-government mob attacked their motorcade as they were making a political tour of northern Burma.

Four people were killed and 50 injured in the incident, according to official figures, but dissidents say the death toll was much higher. Hundreds of members and supporters of Suu Kyi’s party were arrested, but none of the attackers was ever brought to court.

Tin Oo was initially held in Kalay prison, known for its harsh conditions, but since February 2004 he has been under house arrest in Rangoon. His telephone was cut off, he was not allowed to receive visitors and relatives said he had been denied regular medical check-ups.

A highly decorated commander, Tin Oo rose to the rank of general and served as defence minister during the 26-year socialist regime of deceased dictator Ne Win. He was forced into retirement in 1976 and imprisoned for three years for alleged involvement in a plot to kill Ne Win. But it is widely believed that Ne Win wanted to eliminate the highly popular Tin Oo as a potential rival.

Tin Oo, who spent another three years in prison after the founding of Suu Kyi’s league, is respected by many of his party members for his courage and for being outspoken.

A trusted ally to Suu Kyi, Tin Oo accompanied the party leader on her travels around the country to rally for democracy.

On Friday, Suu Kyi’s party called for Tin Oo’s unconditional release, saying he had been detained because of his “unrelenting efforts for the emergence of democracy and human rights in the country”.

Home minister Maj Gen Maung Oo reportedly said last month that Tin Oo would be freed in February and Suu Kyi would be released in November. His comments were made during remarks to local officials in central Burma and reported by the US government-backed Radio Free Asia and other media, but could not be independently confirmed.

The junta took power in 1988 after violently suppressing mass pro-democracy protests. It held general elections in 1990, but refused to recognise the results after Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, the party’s secretary-general, has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years. Her house arrest was extended in August by an additional 18 months, and there is no indication that she will be allowed to participate in this year’s long-awaited elections.

Burma‘s junta chief Senior Gen Than Shwe said yesterday that the free and fair elections would be held “soon”, but gave no date.

The regime still needs to pass necessary election laws to pave the way for the vote and then set a date.

Suu Kyi’s party has not yet decided whether to take part in the elections. The party says the new constitution of 2008 is unfair and will perpetuate military rule – a claim backed by international rights groups.

The constitution guarantees that 25% of parliamentary seats will go to the military and also has a clause that would effectively bar Suu Kyi from holding office.