A late September crackdown waged against Burma-based democracy activists by the country's military government was in response to their possession of opposition publications, according to reliable sources in the capital. The sources also said that a handful of the thirty-plus activists have since been released after being interrogated by Military Intelligence (MI) officers.
"They were arrested due to reading the opposition publications, including the New Era (Khit Pyaing) journal," said a well-known journalist in Rangoon today. "Some of them, however, are certainly going to be charged and sentenced to multiple years [in prison] just like before."
The latest crackdown occurred on September 25, and focused almost exclusively on former political prisoners. However, sources say beyond simply possessing the outlawed publications it still remains unclear what the real impetus behind the crackdown was. Sources add that over thirty individuals were arrested, while dozens more remain in hiding.
"We don’t know precisely the reason for the arrests apart from reading New Era. And for now, it is not safe for us to contact [the released activists]," one dissident told The Irrawaddy today.
Thai-based Burmese dissident groups publish the Burmese-language New Era journal. And in July, two members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested and later sentenced to three-years in prison for possessing the journal.
The government has also not said where the activists are being detained or how long the interrogation process is to take. Three activists who have been released are private schoolteacher Zaw Pe Win, Chit Saung Oo and Zaw Win.
The London-based human rights group Amnesty International also issued a statement calling for the detainees' immediate release. The statement outlined the regime's routine use of torture during interrogation sessions. The US State Department also expressed "dismay" over the arrests.
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