Dissidents Likely to be Sentenced

Three Burmese activists arrested in a late September crackdown in Rangoon are likely to be sentenced to several years in prison, according to reliable sources in Burma. The three were part of an estimated group of 30 activists rounded up by Burma’s military intelligence officers for possessing different opposition journals, including the New Era Journal (Khit Pyaing), which is printed in Bangkok by Burmese dissidents. The three—all former political prisoners—represent the only individuals who were not eventually freed after initial interrogation sessions, and it also continues to remain unclear why they have been singled out by the regime. Sources close to their families said they have been sent to Rangoon’s Insein Prison, but they have yet to be notified as to what charges they are being held under. "Myint Yee, Hla Htut Soe and Ko Htay will face charges and be sentenced to several years by the junta’s special court," a Rangoon activist told The Irrawaddy. "We heard that some copies of the New Era journal were found at Myint Yee’s house by the MI [military intelligence]." In July, two members of the opposition National League for Democracy were sentenced to three years for possessing the journal. And in 1993, 17 activists were sentenced to seven to 20 years in prison on similar charges. Sources also said that roughly half of those detained during the September 25 crackdown were alleged sympathizers of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). During the interrogations, they were questioned about the CPB’s activities as well as their relationship to the party, which disbanded after a 1989 mutiny by rank and file soldiers in Burma’s northern Shan State. The CPB fought against the Burmese government after it achieved independence from Britain in 1948. Burma’s military government also accused the CPB of masterminding the 1988 democracy movement.