Despite the releases of many political prisoners to date and President Thein Sein’s 15 July promise to release all political prisoners by the end of the year, hundreds still remain in jail.
Despite the releases of many political prisoners to date and President Thein Sein’s 15 July promise to release all political prisoners by the end of the year, hundreds still remain in jail.
An increasing crackdown on human rights activists this year has been witnessed. Thant Zin Htet is a student activist from Burma, arrested on 11 June 2013 and charged under Article 18(b) of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, for his part promoting farmers’ rights and showing his support for farmers who were protesting against confiscated land. Many peaceful protesters have been arrested under this repressive legislation, which enables the Burma government to ban any gathering, while almost all the old repressive laws remain in place. Furthermore, it is now clear that the political prisoner review committee will not solve the problem of political prisoners.