Burma's former military intelligence chief Khin Nyunt Released (Interview Video)

By WAI MOE 

Khin Nyunt, the former military intelligence chief who served as Burma's prime minister until his ouster in 2004, told reporters shortly after his release from house arrest on Friday that he welcomes pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's role in the country's politics.

“I welcome Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s efforts. If she is in the Hluttaw [Parliament], it will be better than it is now because she is brave and outspoken,” said Khin Nyunt, speaking from his home on Nawaday Road in Rangoon on Friday morning.

The 71-year-old former spy chief, who was one of 651 prisoners released earlier in the day under an amnesty announced by President Thein Sein, also said he still hasn't made any plans for his own future.

“I am very glad to be released, but I haven't given any thought yet to becoming involved in politics. I need to rest a while,” he said.

In news photos, Khin Nyunt looked happy and healthy, waving to friends and reporters gathered outside his home. Even his hair, which has turned white in recent years, had been dyed jet black.

In addition to Khin Nyunt, more than 100 other former intelligence officials were reportedly released today, eight years after they were imprisoned as part of a purge of Khin Nyunt's Directorate of of Defense Services Intelligence (DDSI) in October 2004.

Khin Nyunt’s sons, Ye Naing Win and Zaw Naing Oo, were also among those freed. Ye Naing Win had been held under house arrest, while Zaw Naing Oo, a former military officer, was released from Tayet Prison in Magway Division.

Other high-ranking intelligence officials on the amnesty list include Brig-Gen Myint Zaw and Brig-Gen San Pwint.

Aung Lynn Htut, a former Burmese intelligence officer who defected to the US following the crackdown on the DDSI, said he welcomed the news of his former colleagues' release. 

“It's time that they were released. They spent almost eight years in prison,” said Aung Lynn Htut, who is currently based in Washington, DC.

According to an announcement in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Friday, the amnesty, which included a number of high-profile dissidents, aims to foster national reconciliation and enable the released prisoners to “participate in the political process.”

Credit : Irrawaddy News