Burmese Authorities Stifle Opposition to Constitution

By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy

Burmese authorities are stepping up their campaign to silence opposition to the proposed constitution, prompting the US on Wednesday to issue a statement condemning recent arrests.

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that on March 29 six “youth activists” had been arrested for taking part in “a peaceful rally against the regime’s draft constitution.”

McCormack said the US was renewing its call “for the Burmese regime to release all detainees and political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and begin a genuine dialogue between the regime leadership and Burma’s democratic and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.”

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP), some 1,890 political prisoners are currently held in Burmese prisons, 52 of them detained in the past three months. An estimated 700 people arrested during and after the demonstrations in September 2007 were still behind bars, AAPP said. Activist sources say most of the political prisoners are in poor health.

The latest victim of the regime’s continuing crackdown, solo protester Ohn Than, was sentenced to life imprisonment by Rangoon’s west district court on Wednesday for protesting in August 2007 against sharp rises in fuel prices. Rangoon lawyer Aung Thein said Ohn Than was convicted under a provision of article 124 (A) of the criminal code relating to “acts that destabilize the government.”

Ohn Than, who graduated from Rangoon University in 1971, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 1988 for taking part in that year’s pro-democracy uprising.

National League for Democracy (NLD) sources in Taunggok township, Arakan State, said three activists had been detained there for their opposition to the proposed constitution.

An NLD source in Mandalay said three detained party members—Shwe Maung, Wunnar Aung and Zaw Win Lay—and two monks had been moved from the city’s prison to Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on March 30.

Shwe Maung was imprisoned for making a symbolic gold-coated copper hat, known as kha mauk (usually worn by Burmese farmers) in 2002. The hat is a recognized NLD symbol and was intended as a gift for NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.