Leading Figures not Among Released

Both dissidents and observers acknowledge that the large-scale release yesterday of political prisoners by Burma's military government would draw international praise, but they continue to remain skeptical of the regime. National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesperson U Lwin said that 51 of the 115 freed prisoners were NLD members, and that the majority were younger party members. He said the release fell short of the number they had hoped. "We requested that the authorities release 400 political prisoners, including prominent figures, from both the NLD and other groups," U Lwin said today from Rangoon. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the release in a statement issued today. The statement said: "The secretary-general hopes this first large-scale release will provide fresh momentum for the national reconciliation process in that country." Despite calls from the Burmese opposition to release all of the remaining 18 incarcerated Members of Parliament (MP), none were freed yesterday during the regime’s largest general amnesty for political prisoners since secret talks began in October 2000. Opposition sources also said many of them remain on parole. Some of the released said they had to vow not to break the law in the future, and if they did authorities said they would have to serve the remainder of their original sentence. The release comes on the heels of UN special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail’s ninth trip to Burma, which ended on Saturday. He reportedly urged the military leaders to free more than 200 political prisoners by year’s end—including student leader Min Ko Naing and journalist U Win Tin, both of whom have been in prison for over 13 years. The prisoners were released yesterday from Insein, Tharawaddy, Taungoo, and Khamti Prisons, however, approximately 1,500 political prisoners remain in detention in Burma, including two Rangoon law students who were sentenced this month to seven and 14 years in prison for protesting against the government.