EBO
News Summary:
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By Aung Hla Tun
21 political prisoners, including 12
members of Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy
party, in what it called an effort to move
closer to multi-party democracy.
Some 1,100 to 1,200 political prisoners
languish in
according to U.N. rights envoy Paulo Sergio
Pinheiro, who abruptly cut short a visit
late in March after discovering a bugging
device while interviewing a prisoner.
Pinheiro called the incident "a great
embarrassment" for
and urged them to free all political
prisoners to help restore the trust of the United Nations.
"The government of
today and three last week," government
spokesman Hla Min said in a statement
faxed to Reuters, adding that health and
humanitarian concerns influenced the decision.
"The releases are the latest in a
series of efforts by the government to move
The junta announced most previous releases
in short statements that it never
linked to the issue of political change.
Pinheiro said in March the junta was only
releasing political prisoners it regarded
as posing minimal threat to the regime.
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BBC World News
One year after the release from house
arrest of
Aung San Suu Kyi, there is widespread
concern about the slow pace of change
inside the country.
Aung San Suu Kyi was released on
welcomed by the international community as a sign
that
were ready for political reform.
But western governments and Aung San Suu
Kyi herself are now critical of
the junta's refusal to engage in dialogue
since her release.
And despite the freeing of 21 political
prisoners last week, more than 1,000
are estimated to remain behind bars.
Since she was freed, Aung San Suu Kyi has
been allowed to travel around
the country, meeting supporters and
well-wishers.
But she claims the government has hampered
her efforts to revive her party,
the National League for Democracy.
The NLD won national elections in 1990 but
was prevented from taking power
by the military junta.
"When I was released, it was agreed
between the authorities and ourselves
that ... we should go on to a more advanced
stage of our relationship,"
Aung San Suu Kyi said recently.
"But I do not think there has been
any progress. In fact, I think there has
been some kind of regression," she added.
The military regime denies any deliberate
effort to interfere with her activities.
The authorities said the recent release of
political prisoners showed that
they were making efforts to reform.
"The releases are the latest in a
series of efforts by the government to move
the government said in a recent statement.
A BBC correspondent says that progress has
been so slow because
military rulers are divided over the prospect of
change.
The overall leader, Senior General Than Shwe, is believed to be
opposed
to letting direct talks with Aung San Suu
Kyi begin.
But other government officials now realise
that the only way to guarantee
a central role for the army in a future
our correspondent says.
Diplomats believe that these officials are
in favour of talking to Aung San Suu Kyi.
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