Blog Elements – Page 549

The widespread and unlawful detention of political activists has a significant impact on Burma’s political environment in two main ways. Firstly, most of the prominent activists are removed from public or political life. Almost all of the 88 Generation student movement leadership is in prison preventing them from organising against the elections or educating the people on political issues. Lead members of National League for Democracy party, including democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, are imprisoned, as are lead ethnic politicians who promote a peaceful tripartite dialogue and national reconciliation, such Gen Hso Ten and U Khun Tun Oo. Secondly, the harsh sentences handed down and the torture and punishments inflicted on political activists threatens the wider population, sending a clear message: refrain from opposition activities or risk the consequences. The consequences are well known. Unlawful arrest and detention and torture are practiced systematically in Burma and occurred throughout 2009 and 2010. These practices pose an ongoing threat to civilians; ensuring populations live in fear, thereby preventing any politically critical activities. This fear stifles dissent, prevents a vibrant civil society and halts any criticism of the regime; key components of a genuine democratic transition.

Download: Silencing Dissent (660kb)

During Burma’s successive military regimes, the term political prisoner has been shrouded in controversy. In fact, the current military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) denies their very existence, arguing that there are only criminals in Burma’s prisons. In reality, there are more than 2,000 people behind bars, without access to the guarantees of due process, for exercising their basic civil and political rights. Following the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1988 and the ensuing crackdown, at least three thousand people were killed and thousands of people were arbitrarily arrested and detained for their involvement in the protests or their perceived opposition to the regime. By 1990, there was an estimated 3,000 political prisoners. Political prisoners are not unique to the SPDC period. People were imprisoned for their political beliefs well before the 1988 uprising. However, the SPDC’s attempts to cut people off from politics, close off the country from external influences, and gain total control over the population, resulted in a dramatic increase in political prisoners. More and more people in Burma became interested in politics, their minds awakened by the 1988 pro-democracy uprising where hundreds of thousands of ordinary people took to the streets. As a result, more and more people were arrested and imprisoned for simply exercising their basic human rights and charged under oppressive and draconian laws and directives that criminalize peaceful dissent.

Download: The ten year fight for Burma’s political prisoners (750kb)