YANGON - WHEN Myanmar's new government announced a prisoner amnesty last month, Mr Than Kyaw was among a few dozen of the country's more than 2,000 political detainees to be set free.
'I had a bitter experience in the prisons,' the 56-year-old said, showing a large scar on his hip - a reminder of the hundreds of beatings he endured behind bars for offences as slight as not catching flies when ordered to by the guards.
With only three days left to serve of his 25-year sentence for high treason when he was released, the former member of the anti-junta Communist Party in western Rakhine state could hardly be described as lucky.
The move to cut all sentences by one year freed tens of thousands of common criminals but, despite persistent calls from the international community, left the overwhelming majority of political prisoners languishing in jail. The March handover of power from the junta to a nominally civilian government and the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after the first election in 20 years sparked cautious hopes of gradual reform in Myanmar, ruled by the military for nearly half a century.
But the so-called amnesty was 'a measure of how fragile the changes are', according to Mr David Mathieson, a Myanmar specialist at New York-based Human Rights Watch. He said the fact so few political prisoners were released meant the country's leaders still perceived them as a challenge.
'Even though they have said some positive things in the past few months, it's got to be demonstrated in action,' he said. -- AFP
Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_676130.html
'I had a bitter experience in the prisons,' the 56-year-old said, showing a large scar on his hip - a reminder of the hundreds of beatings he endured behind bars for offences as slight as not catching flies when ordered to by the guards.
With only three days left to serve of his 25-year sentence for high treason when he was released, the former member of the anti-junta Communist Party in western Rakhine state could hardly be described as lucky.
The move to cut all sentences by one year freed tens of thousands of common criminals but, despite persistent calls from the international community, left the overwhelming majority of political prisoners languishing in jail. The March handover of power from the junta to a nominally civilian government and the release of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi after the first election in 20 years sparked cautious hopes of gradual reform in Myanmar, ruled by the military for nearly half a century.
But the so-called amnesty was 'a measure of how fragile the changes are', according to Mr David Mathieson, a Myanmar specialist at New York-based Human Rights Watch. He said the fact so few political prisoners were released meant the country's leaders still perceived them as a challenge.
'Even though they have said some positive things in the past few months, it's got to be demonstrated in action,' he said. -- AFP
Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_676130.html
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