I guess the repressive government of Burma is a good club to be used when an agenda is to be pushed and not much else, huh?
"Burma to release 6,300 prisoners" by Associated Press | February 21, 2009
RANGOON, Burma - Burma's military government announced an amnesty last night for thousands of prisoners but did not mention whether any political detainees will be among those released.
State radio and television announced that the convicts from various prisons would be released starting today. The brief announcement said 6,313 prisoners were being freed in recognition of their good conduct and so that they would be able to participate in a general election planned for next year.
Human rights groups estimate that the regime holds more than 2,100 political detainees, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial.
Did you know that Aung San Suu Kyi is Burmese for CIA?
Things staring to make sense now, huh?
Would you want the CIA running rampant in your country?
When the junta freed 9,002 prisoners last September, only about a dozen were political detainees. In recent months, the junta's courts have sentenced more than 100 dissidents, including prominent activists, to prison terms that would keep them incarcerated well past the 2010 election.
The top UN envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, who recently visited the country, said in New York that he had not received any official communique from the government and was waiting to see how many of the prisoners were criminals and how many were political prisoners.--more--"
And just in case you didn't see the first report:
"Burma releasing thousands from prison" by Washington Post | February 23, 2009
PHUKET, Thailand - Burma's military government has begun releasing more than 6,300 prisoners, including some members of the opposition National League for Democracy.
The league is headed by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest. Rights groups said only a small number of those being released are political prisoners.
State media said that those who had been released were freed because of good conduct and so they could vote in elections due to be held next year.... The releases come shortly after a visit to Burma by Tomas Ojea Quintana, a United Nations special rapporteur on human rights. It was Quintana's second visit to Burma in six months, and he gave a bleak assessment of the situation.
"The human rights situation in Myanmar is still challenging," he said after his visit, referring to the country by the name its military rulers prefer. "It's difficult to affirm that the human rights situation has improved."Not that I'm indifferent to the suffering, but I don't feel qualified to offer criticism seeing as the U.S. TORTURES PEOPLE!
--more--"
And that's the last time I saw Burma in my war daily, while seeing plenty of crap.
