Despite Burmese President Thein Sein’s 2013 promise to release all political prisoners—a move praised by many foreign leaders, who relied on his promise to mobilize public support for further liberalizing trade restrictions imposed on Burma—the current military backed government in Naypyidaw is still clamping down on voices that are critical of the government, including political activists and journalists.
In particular, human rights groups say that Burma’s draconian protest laws are being used to stifle activists and political dissent because they require all demonstrations to be approved by the authorities, thereby giving the government legal grounds to arrest and detain dozens of people merely for peacefully expressing their opinions.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)—an NGO which keeps track of the number of political prisoners in Burma; advocates for their unconditional release; and provides assistance to political prisoners and their families—stated that dozens of political prisoners are currently being detained in Burma, with a further 85 awaiting charges.
“AAPP currently recognizes at least 59 political prisoners detained across Burma,” the organization said in an official statement[a1] . “The dangers to journalists, farmers, demonstrators, and political activists are as real as ever—a fact reflected in the number of arrests made since the start of the year.”
The AAPP statement condemned Burma’s government for failing to release all political prisoners and the President for failing to keep to his promise.
“President U Thein Sein promised to release all political activists by the end of 2013, a commitment he made, not only to his own country, but to the international community. AAPP has recorded evidence that this promise was not fulfilled,” the statement said, referring to a promise made by Thein Sein on July 15, 2013 when he met the British Prime Minister in London.
In an interview with Karen News, AAPP Secretary Ko Bo Kyi urged the government to get rid of the contentious Unlawful Association Act.
“The ongoing arrest of political activists in Burma undermines trust in the current government. The government must abolish the protest laws which are used to arrest these people.”
Ko Bo Kyi asserted that Burma’s government lacks legitimacy because it continues to repress political opponents: “In fact the government is not legitimate when it arrests its own people for protesting, refuses to amend the constitution in line with democratic principles, and prosecutes civil war in ethnic areas,” he said, adding that “The president did not keep his promise – how can people trust this government if it does not keep its promises?”
AAPP’s statement also said it’s concerned that critical voices in Burma’s burgeoning independent media were under attack.
“Press freedoms in 2014 have been repeatedly threatened, with the arrest of numerous journalists and press staff members around the country, demonstrating the plight of those fighting for freedom of speech, assembly, and expression.”
A recent spate of journalist arrests in the country was cited by AAPP, including the case of Zaw Pe, a video journalist from the Democratic Voice of Burma who was sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly “disturbing a civil servant.” In addition, five Unity Weekly staff members were jailed following the publication of their story alleging that Burma has a chemical weapons facility.
The AAPP statement criticized Burma’s lack of press freedom, saying that “This attitude of oppressing journalists and restricting press freedoms is evidently still prevalent in Burma, with the press hamstrung in their attempts to question the actions of government and state officials. When journalists are prevented from providing the people of Burma with information regarding the activities of their government, freedom of speech can never truly exist.”
[a1]It must be clear which quote is from the official AAPP statement and which quote is from Karen News’ interview with Ko Bo Gyi
