Jot ASEAN:- Burma: How many political prisoners released? Remain in prison?

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma "today confirmed that 127 political prisoners have been released from prisons in Burma." They include:

• 43 members of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy
• 22 women
• 4 monks
• 4 journalists
• U Peter and Daw Nu Nu Swe - arrested and sentenced to six years imprisonment after they refused to open the door to security forces who were searching for their son, Sithu Maung (who is still in prison).

The AAPP press release continues:

According to AAPP, more than 2,000 political prisoners remain in jail, including at least 124 activists who are in poor health. Since November 2004 there have been a total of six amnesties for prisoners. According to the ruling State Peace and Development Council’s own figures, 45,732prisoners were released under those amnesties. According to AAPP, only 1.3% of them were political prisoners.

The latest amnesty was expected. In mid-July the Burmese permanent representative to the U.N., U Than Swe, said the regime was ‘processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian grounds’.

The AAPP provides a breakdown of the political prisoners of the regime who continue to languish in the country's brutal jails where prisoners have reported torture and inhuman conditions. For a description of these conditions, see the interview I conducted at the Thai-Burma border with former political prisoner Zaw Nyein Latt (right). There is no evidence that the terrible conditions have improved. It is incumbent that ASEAN and the international community hold Burma's leadership personally to account for the well-being of its prisoners.

Summary of Current Situation

There are a total of 2,211 political prisoners in Burma.
These include:

CATEGORY	NUMBER
Monks	237
Members of Parliament	16
Students	286
Women	191
NLD members	479
Members of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network	43
Ethnic nationalities	197
Cyclone Nargis volunteers	21
Teachers	26
Media Activists	51
Lawyers	12
In Poor Health	137

Since the protests in August 2007 leading to last September’s Saffron Revolution, a total of 1,122 activists have been arrested and are still in detention.

Update: A new report prompts us to ask why a Burmese-born American citizen is being held against his will in Burma.