Political prisoner

The Karen National Union President, Saw Tamla Baw, speaking on the 63rd Anniversary of Karen National Revolution remembered the sacrifice his people had made since the armed resistance had begun in 1949. The KNU president used the occasion to call for national unity among ethnic people and democratic forces, the release of all political prisoners and to remain vigilant during…

The Karen National Union says at the next round of ‘peace talks’ with the Burma government they will demand the release of Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung – the jailed KNU central executive member now serving a 17-year jail sentence in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison. Padoh Saw David Taw, secretary of the KNU’s Peace Committee said. “We will demand at the…

A National League for Democracy member, Naw Ohn Hla, told Karen News that she will find a lawyer for Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, the jailed Karen National Union leader currently serving a 17-year jail sentence in Burma’s notorious Insein Prison. Naw Ohn Hla said she met briefly with Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung at a special court session held in Insein…

Karen National Union delegates at last week’s ceasefire talks with the Burma government in Pa-an claim they were given assurances that the jailed KNU central committee member P’doh Mahn Nyein Maung would be released. The KNU says the Home Minister, Lt-Gen Ko Ko, contradicted the government’s promise when he briefed reporters last Saturday on the outcome of the ‘peacetalks’. “Legal…

After being reported ‘as disappeared’ during his trip to China in August 2011, Padoh Mahn Nyein Maung, a Karen National Union central executive committee member it was reported in Burma’s media that on December 8, the KNU official was tried and sentenced at Mingaladon court in Rangoon to 17 years in jail. KNU sources said that the report about Padoh…

It was on the full moon night of – Thidingyut – a night where Buddhists light candles and pray at temples or in their homes. I was wandering around a temple it’s lights shining bright. I was in Mae Sot, a Thai border town with the River Moei separating it from Myawaddy, a border town on the Burma side. I…

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…

The Burmese government’s decision to issue an amnesty order to reduce all prisoners’ sentences by one year that was issued in May has been widely criticized and condemned by political opposition parties and international humanitarian groups. The New York based Human Rights Watch said. “The government’s gesture will be welcomed by a great many prisoners in Burma, but for the…