CHRISTIAN POLITICAL PRISONER RELEASED AFTER HUNGER STRIKE IN BURMESE JAIL
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
MYANMAR (ANS) -- A prominent Christian political prisoner has been released from prison in Burma (now Myanmar) after staging a hunger strike to draw international attention to inhumane prison conditions and the persistent violations of fundamental human rights, including the lack of religious freedom.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports that Dr. Salai Tun Than, aged 75, started a week long hunger strike from his bed in Insein Prison Hospital, Rangoon, on Sunday, April 27, to protest against the conditions at Insein and other prisons in Burma which persistently fail to meet the UN's Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. (Pictured: Dr. Salai Tun). Picture credit: Asian Human Rights Commission.
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According to sources close to Dr Salai Tun Than, the professor maintained that he and a handful of political prisoners who had been allowed by the Burmese military junta to meet with delegations from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nation Special Rapporteur on Human Rights were interrogated by prison guards and Military Intelligence personnel, contrary to international norms, after each of these meetings.
The professor also claimed that prison guards and Military Intelligence personnel monitored and recorded all conversations made during the brief periods of family visits.
In addition, he complained that the medical care and facilities in the prison hospital failed to meet even the minimum standard for health, safety and hygiene.
Dr Salai Tun Than also claimed that his freedom to practice his Christian faith was severely curtailed. The prison authorities reportedly denied him access to a Bible and refused to grant him permission to take Holy Communion inside the prison.
The professor's action has set off a new wave of protests in the US and in Europe. Bowing to mounting international pressure, the military dictatorship released the professor and 17 other political prisoners on Sunday, May 4.
In a government statement, the military junta claimed "the releases are the latest in a series of efforts by the government to move Myanmar closer to multiparty democracy and national reconciliation."
However, Christian Solidarity Worldwide said its understanding was that the release of Dr Salai Tun Than and the others was strictly on condition that they refrain from engaging in future political activities.
The family of Dr Salai Tun Than is thrilled at his release.
The professor's youngest daughter Mai Theinggi Tun Than told Christian Solidarity Worldwide: "We won one step now...He is now at home. I have already talked to him. Although he is weak because of his seven-day hunger strike and his illness, his mentality is still very strong...We have to go on to other steps -- to release all political prisoners, and to free Burma."
On hearing of the professor's hunger strike, CSW has raised his case with European foreign ministries, Embassies in Rangoon, The European Commission, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Rapporteurs on Torture, Religious Intolerance, Human Rights in Burma and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
On the anniversary of the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest (May 6, 2002), Christian Solidarity Worldwide reiterated its call on the military regime to take genuine steps towards national reconciliation by engaging Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of the non-Burman ethnic nationalities in transparent and meaningful political dialogues and setting down a broad
framework and timescale for the return of civilian rule.
A spokesman for CSW said: "We welcome the release of Dr Salai Tun Than and unreservedly commend him for his courageous stand for human rights and religious freedom.
"The release of Dr Salai Tun Than and 17 other political prisoners, and indeed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi a year ago, are clear examples that the military regime of Burma responds well to concerted international pressure. For the sake of the thousands of prisoners in Burma's prisons and
the hundred of thousands of internally displaced ethnic people struggling to survive in Burma's jungles, the international community must continue to apply diplomatic and economic pressures until there are real and sustained changes in the country."
BACKGROUND TO THE CASE
Dr Salai Tun Than was arrested outside Rangoon City Hall on November 29, 2001 for staging a solo protest and distributing a petition calling for a multi-party general election to be held. At a secret trial in February 2002, he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment under section 5(j) of the
Emergency Provisions Act 1950.
Since his incarceration in Insein Prison, the professor has reportedly been suffering from eye problems, bone disease and other ailments.
The release of Dr Salai Tun Than and 17 others is the first significant wave of release of political prisoners in six months. According to Amnesty International, over 1,200 political prisoners are believed to be behind bars in Burma.
Prison conditions in Burma are harsh and prisoners are often deprived of proper sanitation, adequate medical care, food and water. Prisoners are often hooded whenever they are taken out of their cells. Political prisoners at prison hospitals, in particular, are strictly forbidden to speak with
ordinary prisoners. Trials of prisoners repeatedly fail to meet international standards for fair trial procedures.
According to a recent list published by the Asian Tribune, at least 189 political prisoners in various prisons in Burma are suffering acute illnesses and are in urgent need of medical attention.
The non-Burma ethnic nationalities constitute at least 40 percent of the country's population and occupy over two-thirds of the land. The constitution, particularly the issue of ethnic rights, has been at the root of much of Burma's problems today. Ethnic participation in political dialogues is a vital requisite and the best means of promoting national reconciliation.
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