Yangon frees 14 jailed democracy activists

Yangon frees 14 jailed democracy activists

YANGON (AFP): Myanmar's ruling junta has released 14 members
of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) who had
been detained since last year, an NLD source said on Sunday.

Eleven NLD members arrested for demonstrating at a public
market in Myanmar's ancient capital of Mandalay last year and
three NLD youths detained in Bago were released March 30.

The move came as Myanmar gave permission to the newly
appointed UN special human rights rapporteur on Myanmar, Paulo
Sergio Pinheiro, to visit the country for the first time this
week.

"Eleven people who had been kept in Mandalay prison for the
past year and three from Bago were released. They are all NLD
members," the source said.

Those released from Mandalay had been detained by authorities
without charge after staging a demonstration at Mandalay's Zejyo
Market in September of last year, the source said.

The three NLD youths released in the central Myanmar city of
Bago had also been detained last year without charges for alleged
anti-government activities.

It follows the release on March 28 of 10 activists considered
to be communist sympathizers were set free from Toungoo and
Tharyarwaddy prisons after completing jail terms.

Their release was unusual as the Myanmar junta had previously
sent political prisoners who had completed jail terms back to
prison for extended periods.

On March 23, four NLD youths were released after completing
jail terms for mounting a protest at former Premier U Nu's
funeral in 1996.

Pinheiro's visit and the freeing of NLD detainees is seen as a
sign of easing tension between Myanmar's ruling military and the
opposition NLD led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Pinheiro received the green light to fly into Yangon just
weeks after his appointment, while his predecessor Rajsoomer
Lallah quit last year after never visiting the military-run
country.

Diplomats have hailed Pinheiro's visit as another indication
that a remarkable political shift is underway in Myanmar, where
the generals have begun meeting behind closed doors with
democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

In October last year, Aung San Suu Kyi and military
intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Khin Nyunt took the first steps
towards setting up the first official dialogue since 1994.

The improved political climate brought about by the talks may
have changed the trend of jailing opposition members
indefinitely, and those who have remained free are coping with
less harassment by the junta, the source said.

"This is a very positive sign," said one observer. "They need
to normalize their relations with the international community."