Rights & Democracy urges international pressure for release of all political prisoners in Burma

Min Ko Naing MONTREAL – November 19, 2008 – The mass sentencing of pro-democracy activists in Burma to prison terms of up to 65 years must be met with immediate and coordinated international pressure to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma, said Rights & Democracy.

Among the activists sentenced are Min Ko Naing and Su Su Nway, who are both past recipients of Rights & Democracy’s John Humphrey Freedom Award. Min Ko Naing was sentenced to 65 years in prison last week for his role in peaceful protests last year against the junta’s arbitrary increase of fuel and commodity prices. Su Su Nway received a sentence of 12 years for activities in support of Burma’s democratic movement.

Both sentences were announced alongside those of at least 23 members of the pro-democracy “88 Generation Students” who also received long-term sentences for their participation in last year’s mass pro-democracy demonstrations. No defence lawyers were present at the secret trials, according to reports. Their sentences are the first among hundreds of political activists currently facing trial in closed courts and reports suggested hundreds more could face similar proceedings. It is estimated that the number of political prisoners in Burma has doubled in the last year to more than 2,100.

Rights & Democracy welcomes the swift international condemnation of these sentences and reaffirms its full commitment to efforts by its partners to win the release of all political prisoners in Burma, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and ensure a peaceful transition to democracy. Rights & Democracy also:

Calls for countries with influence on Burma’s military regime, including China, India and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to negotiate the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma.
Urges the United Nations Security Council to convene a meeting on Burma immediately and adopt a binding resolution calling on the military junta to undertake a peaceful transition to democracy.

“The persecution of Burma’s courageous pro-democracy movement is a blight on all countries that continue to support this junta,” said Rémy M. Beauregard, President of Rights & Democracy. “It is imperative that these countries and the UN Security Council send a clear message to the junta’s leaders that this abuse of the rule of law is wholly unacceptable and all political prisoners must be released.”

Rights & Democracy’s involvement in Burma dates to 1990, the year Burma’s military refused to cede power to Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party after its landslide election victory. Rights & Democracy was the first institution to support the democratically-elected government-in-exile, and remains committed to supporting Burma’s democratic movement.

Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to promote democratic development and to advocate for and defend human rights set out in the International Bill of Human Rights. In cooperation with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights & Democracy initiates and supports programmes to strengthen laws and democratic institutions, principally in developing countries.