Myanmar Frees Prominent Political Prisoners

Myanmar freed many of the country's most prominent political prisoners Friday in a major step to address one of the key conditions Western leaders have set for lifting sanctions against the country, prompting the U.S. to announce it is resuming full diplomatic relations with the country by sending an ambassador there.

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This 2007 photo shows democracy activist Min Ko Naing, who was among prominent political prisoners freed by Myanmar on Friday.

Myanmar's leaders had already released thousands of prisoners in mass amnesties over the past year, including 200 or so political detainees, but those releases had left many of the country's best-known dissidents still behind bars, and Western diplomats and activists had clamored for more.

The prisoner amnesty on Friday, by contrast, included an array of Myanmar's most famous dissidents, including Min Ko Naing, a student leader from a failed pro-democracy uprising in 1988, and Khun Tun Oo, a well-known Shan ethnic leader. Also released was Shin Gambira, a militant monk who helped lead antigovernment protests during the abortive "Saffron Revolution" crushed by Myanmar soldiers in 2007.

Former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt, who was ousted in 2004 and sentenced to 44 years of house arrest after falling out with Myanmar's top military leaders, was also set free, as were a number of journalists, bloggers and other pro-democracy leaders. Human-rights activists and family members said it would likely take a few days to determine just how many of the 651 inmates the government said it was freeing would be political dissidents, though it was believed that a large portion were.

After the announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday the U.S. will exchange ambassadors with Myanmar in response to the release of political prisoners and other reforms. Currently, the highest-level U.S. diplomat based in Myanmar is a chargé d'affaires

In a statement, President Barack Obama called the move "a substantial step forward for democratic reform.''

"We're becoming increasingly excited," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch, which described Friday's prisoner release in a statement as a "crucial development." But he stressed that a full accounting with international monitors would be needed before Western leaders could be sure all of Myanmar's political detainees were out.

The mood in Myanmar on Friday was hopeful. Large, jubilant crowds gathered at prisons to see who would be let out while crowds danced and played ethnic music at the homes of some detainees.

Zarganar, a famous comedian and former political prisoner who was released late last year, said "so many of my friends are released" when reached briefly by mobile phone at the Yangon airport Friday. After he repeated those words several times, the line went dead.

"A big obstacle has been removed, and we are very happy," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the National League for Democracy, the party of the country's most famous dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi. He said he didn't yet know exactly how many political prisoners were released, but said that many were NLD members.

Mrs. Clinton and other Western leaders have said Myanmar's political prisoners must be set free before they will consider lifting tough economic sanctions against the large, resource-rich country, whose harsh military regime handed power to a nominally civilian administration last year. Since then, the government has embarked on a number of unexpected reforms, including eased restrictions on the Internet and expanded peace talks with ethnic insurgent groups, raising hopes of a major shift in its relations with the West.

The release of so many prisoners increases pressure on Western governments to scale back sanctions.

"The ball is now in the court of the international community to reciprocate with positive deeds," said Ko Ko Hlaing, an adviser to Myanmar President Thein Sein.

Western leaders have laid out three other criteria that must be met before rolling back their sanctions, which block most U.S. companies from investing in Myanmar. Those steps include a demand for fair parliamentary elections, expanded dialogue with the country's many armed ethnic insurgent groups, and greater transparency in dealings with North Korea.

Myanmar has made progress on all those fronts, Western diplomats say. On Thursday, the government said it signed a cease-fire with one of the biggest ethnic groups, the Karen, though tensions remain with some other insurgents. A parliamentary by-election is scheduled for April 1, with Ms. Suu Kyi, planning to take part, and some diplomats have indicated they're growing more comfortable with Myanmar's assurances it isn't engaged in weapons proliferation with North Korea.

Meanwhile, a series of high-profile U.S. leaders are visiting Myanmar this week. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell—a key voice in determining whether to keep sanctions in place—said he would make his first visit to the country starting Sunday.

It now is a "plausible scenario" that international sanctions against Myanmar could start falling by April when by-elections are held, said Sean Turnell, a professor at Australia's Macquarie University, though he said much remains to be done before all U.S. demands will be met. Reaching settlements with all the country's armed ethnic groups—which control large swaths of jungle along the country's borders with China and Thailand—could prove to be the most difficult task, he said.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Yangon declined to comment. New York Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowley, who spearheaded legislation tightening sanctions in 2008 and traveled to Myanmar this week, said in a news conference in Yangon Friday that the release was "a step in a very positive direction" but added "more things need to be done."

Part of the challenge for Western leaders is gauging how durable the latest changes in Myanmar are, given the short track record of the country's new government. Just determining whether all the political prisoners are out will be hard, because no one can agree on the exact number of dissidents who were detained before Friday's release. Estimates range from as low as a few hundred to 1,500 or so, and some have been held in jails far from major population centers. It is widely assumed at least some will remain behind bars.

In the past, Myanmar's leaders set some political detainees free only to rearrest them again later. It isn't yet known whether the newly released political prisoners will be allowed to organize politically, hold rallies, or take other steps to challenge the government, which is still controlled by leaders with close military ties.

Some analysts believe there are sharp divisions within the government over how much freedom to grant activists, increasing the risk of a backlash from military hard-liners if the released prisoners become too critical of authority. Myanmar officials have denied there are any splits in the government.

The latest amnesty is being granted as "part of the national reconciliation process," said Ye Htut, a spokesman for Myanmar's Ministry of Information. "We understand that there are some people from exile groups that always put negative views on recent changes in Myanmar. But the Myanmar people and international community are supporting our president's reform program and naysayers have no role in the future of our country." 

Ref: WSJ

Posted in: 05. MYANMAR