Ethnic alliance demand Burma’s government release all political prisoners

The Brotherhood Forum, a group of five ethnic political parties from Burma urged the government to release all political prisoners from the country’s jails.

A statement released by the Brotherhood Forum on October 15 demanded four things from the government – immediately release the Shan politician, U Khun Htun Oo and all other ethnic politicians, immediately release Ko Min Ko Naing and all other 88 generation student leaders, and immediately release all other political prisoners.

Nai Ngwe Thein, the chairman of the All Mon Region Democracy Party said.

“We demand the government to release all the political prisoners without exception.”

The demand came after the government released over 6,000 prisoners serving criminal sentences and nearly 200 political prisoners in President U Thein Sein’s recent amnesty.

The five ethnic party alliance in their statement also recommended that the government hold a peace-building workshop with political parties using relevant experts to try to solve conflicts in the ethnic regions.

The alliance’s statement urged pro-democracy leader, Daw Aung San Su Kyi, to re-enter politics and to stand for parliament in Burma’s next election.

Ko Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-B) told Karen News that the government has to face the reality in Burma and accept the institutional abuse handed out to ethnic people and political prisoners.

“The government must admit that there are political prisoners in Burma if they really want national reconciliation. And then must release all those prisoners, including ethnic political prisoners.”

Burma’s President, U Thein Sein’s, and the new government announced the first amnesty in May 2011 and released over 14,600 prisoners with a few political prisoners among them. According to an AAPP-B report, in the recent second amnesty, 6,359 prisoners were releases together with 200 political prisoners.

The Brotherhood Forum, is made up of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, the All Mon Region Democratic Party, the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the Plone-Swor Democratic Party and the Chin National Party.