UN calls on Myanmar to release political prisoners by end of year

2011-10-21 19:44:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- Following Myanmar's release of 200 political prisoners earlier this month, the United Nations (UN) said the country's new government must follow up on the decision and free all remaining such detainees by the end of the year.

UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tomás Ojea Quintana said Myanmar is currently in a key moment in its history, as "there are real opportunities for positive and meaningful development to improve the human rights situation and deepen the transition to democracy."

After more than two decades of military rule, Myanmar recently elected a new President earlier this year through its newly-convened Parliament. Quintana is now pushing the Government to release all remaining political prisoners before the end of the year, a day after briefing the UN General Assembly's third committee on his latest report on the South-East Asian country.

"Those prominent leaders, those who had important roles in the history of Myanmar, they still remain in prison," Quintana said. "The Government must move forward on this point ... [the prisoners] deserve now to play a role in this again important moment."

In addition, the UN Special Rapporteur said the Government should not use the prisoners as hostages to have the compliance of the international community. "These people deserve to enjoy their freedom and they have been incarcerated for exercising political freedoms in Myanmar."

During his latest visit to Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, Quintana was able to meet with some prisoners in private conditions with no officials present, including those detained for political and ethnic reasons.

According to Quintana, despite pledges by the new Government to fulfill its international human rights obligations, he was still receiving allegations of abuses, particular from border areas where the military is fighting ethnic insurgencies and he hoped to have a dialogue with the Government on this issue on his next visit.

Many serious human rights, social, political, economic and cultural issues still remain to be addressed, Quintana added. "Investigations into human rights violation allegations need to be done in a credible and independent manner," he said, stressing that he had delivered this message to the authorities during his recent visit.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-21

:cheesy:

Why wait until the end of the year? Why not now?