Myanmar urged to free Suu Kyi's 82-year-old deputy

A human rights group and pro-democracy activists urged Myanmar's military junta to free the 82-year-old deputy leader of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party when his detention expires Saturday, shortly before a U.N. envoy visits the country.

Tin Oo, who helped found the National League for Democracy with Suu Kyi, has spent nearly seven years in prison and under house arrest. The junta has renewed his detention on an annual basis since his arrest in 2003.

"Tin Oo has paid dearly for his courageous opposition to military rule," said Brad Adams, the Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch. He urged the junta to set the tone for elections later this year _ the first in two decades _ by freeing the democracy activist.

The United Nations' special envoy to Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is to arrive in Myanmar on Monday to evaluate its progress on human rights issues.

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 Myanmar.

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, about 430 miles (700 kilometers) north of Yangon. Since February 2004 he has been under house arrest in Yangon. His telephone is cut off, he is not allowed to receive visitors and relatives say he has been denied regular medical checkups.

Suu Kyi's party also called Friday 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 Myanmar and reported by the U.S.-government backed Radio Free Asia and other media, and 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 recognize 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.

Source :http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1179956&lang=eng_news