A UN rights investigator Thursday met Myanmar’s longest serving political prisoner, journalist Win Tin, a key member of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told reporters he met Win Tin and other leading prisoners of conscience during a brief visit to Yangon’s notorious Insein prison. "He is always in high spirits, he is OK," Pinheiro told reporters at Yangon airport when asked about the condition of the veteran democracy campaigner. Win Tin, 77, has spent more than 18 years behind bars since his arrest in July 1989. He is serving a 20-year sentence for his writings and being a senior member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Pinheiro said he requested to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, but "it was not possible for me to meet her this time." "I hope that next time I will be able to met the general secretary of the NLD," he said in reference to her.
The Brazilian envoy however made no mention of his mission to investigate the actual death toll and detentions from the junta’s suppression of massive anti-government protests in September, which caused international outrage. The ruling military said 10 people were killed in the protests but diplomats say the true toll was far higher. Pinheiro said he briefly met prominent labour rights activist Su Su Nway, 35, who was arrested Tuesday while putting up anti-government posters, and members of the 88 Generation Students, a group of veteran student leaders who spearheaded a 1988 uprising against the military.
"I must say that I have met a large number of people that I have asked (to meet)," he said. Asked his opinion of the situation in Myanmar, Pinheiro replied: "I will elaborate in my report," to the Human Rights Council. The rights investigator however said the generals had cooperated with him. "I’m very glad that the government provided detailed information about all the names and situation of the detainees at this moment," he said without elaborating. The UN expert left Myanmar in 2003 after learning his meeting with a political prisoner in Insein had been bugged, and had not been allowed to return until this visit…
I worry that we will forget Burma and what’s happened there, just like we forgot after 1988. Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Tin have been essentially jailed since then. The current dictatorship of General Shwe has been "moving towards democracy" since then [with no movement]. It’s a big place to be shrouded in such repression. We all saw the will of the people on television this summer, but now they are fading from memory…
The video on the right I posted earlier no longer shows up on Youtube
A UN rights investigator Thursday met Myanmar’s longest serving political prisoner, journalist Win Tin, a key member of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told reporters he met Win Tin and other leading prisoners of conscience during a brief visit to Yangon’s notorious Insein prison. "He is always in high spirits, he is OK," Pinheiro told reporters at Yangon airport when asked about the condition of the veteran democracy campaigner. Win Tin, 77, has spent more than 18 years behind bars since his arrest in July 1989. He is serving a 20-year sentence for his writings and being a senior member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy. Pinheiro said he requested to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest, but "it was not possible for me to meet her this time." "I hope that next time I will be able to met the general secretary of the NLD," he said in reference to her.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.