Current Situation of Burmese Political Prisoners
Trends
December has seen the U Thein Sein regime continue to court the West with a high profile meeting with US secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Although promises were made by the regime that political prisoners would be released, there are still at least 1,572 people imprisoned for their political beliefs who are believed to still be in prison. The conditions that these prisoners endure remain appalling and people in opposition to the regime are still being tried and sentenced under the deeply flawed Burmese judicial system. Of high concern is the situation in ethnic regions such as Kachin State where the Burmese military continues to rape women, burn villages, force people into labor as porters, and many people are reported as disappeared. The case of Mahn Nyein Maung, a Karen leader now facing charges under the Unlawful Association Act after an enforced disappearance, typifies the lack of tolerance the regime has for politically active ethnic people.
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