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BURMA URGED TO FREE SICK PRISONERS




                         Burma Urged to Free Sick Prisoners

                         Saturday, October 11, 1997; 1:41 p.m. EDT 

                         BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Amnesty International is
urging
                         Burma's military government to release three ailing
political
                         prisoners, who have been transferred to a hospital
for medical
                         treatment. 

                         Burma's prisons are crowded and inmates suffer from
poor
                         diet, sanitation and health care, human rights
groups say.
                         Unhealthy conditions and delayed medical care
allegedly have
                         led to the deaths of political prisoners in the past. 

                         The London-based human rights group said Win Tin, Cho
                         Aung Than and Aung Khin Sint, all members of the
                         pro-democracy party led by Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Aung
                         San Suu Kyi, should ``not be returned to prison
under any
                         circumstances.'' 

                         Cho and Win Tin both have heart conditions, Amnesty
said. 

                         A government official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity,
                         said Aung Khin Sint has high blood pressure, a weak
heart and
                         diabetes. The official said Cho had high blood
pressure but
                         denied that his condition was serious. 

                         The three men, all in their 60s, have recently been
transferred
                         from prison to a Rangoon hospital. 

                         In addition, Suu Kyi's cousin, Aye Win, who had
been held
                         since May 1996 without trial, is also receiving
heart treatment
                         at the hospital, members of Suu Kyi's National
League for
                         Democracy said. 

                         Amnesty International estimated that Burma's
political prisoners
                         number more than 1,000. Many are from Suu Kyi's party. 

                         Burma's military government succeeded an earlier
military
                         regime in 1988, suppressing pro-democracy
demonstrations by
                         killing thousands of protesters. 

                         Suu Kyi received the Nobel in 1991 for her peaceful
efforts to
                         bring democracy to Burma.