On Tuesday, the government of Myanmar began the release of over 8,000 prisoners on humanitarian grounds under a presidential pardon granted by newly elected President Win Myint. The pardon, which coincided with the Burmese New Year, Thingyan, also saw the release of 36 political prisoners.
Political imprisonments in Myanmar are as ordinary as white bread. The country which was fleeced by a military dictatorship for 49 years has changed very little in that sense since introducing political reforms in 2011. The triumph of Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi – herself a former political prisoner – in the 2015 general elections was heralded by the international community as the start of a fresh democracy in the Southeast Asian state.
However, the veneer of the civilian government led by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) hides a bitter truth. Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) still holds significant power in the country.
In 2008, a new constitution was minted and as part of a political bargain to allow transition from military to civilian rule, the Tatmadaw were allocated 25 percent of the seats in Parliament. This unequivocally gives the military a veto to overrule any constitutional amendment which requires 75 percent support in parliament. Besides that, the army also holds key ministerial portfolios and the constitution also contains vague clauses which allow for the military to resume charge in the event the country falls into disorder.
In essence, Myanmar has remained a quasi-junta state since its ascent to the democratic perch. Nevertheless, permitting the release of all prisoners and repealing any and all repressive laws against freedom of expression and media is well within Suu Kyi’s jurisdiction but given that many of these political prisoners are critical of the junta, releasing them may prove costly to Suu Kyi’s political survival.
“With the use and scope of repressive laws being increased rather than repealed, it seems that under the NLD government there is no end in sight to the scourge of political prisoners in Burma’s jails,” said Mark Farmaner, director of the non-profit organisation, Burma Campaign UK.
On 21 April 2018, in conjunction with the fourth anniversary of the death of U Win Tin – a former political prisoner who famously continued to wear his blue prison shirt after his release in support of still-imprisoned political prisoners in Burmese jails – Burma Campaign UK has declared it Blue Shirt Day. It is part of a continuous effort to raise awareness of the plight of political prisoners in Myanmar. Supporters of the campaign are urged to post pictures on social media of themselves wearing blue clothing with the hashtag #blueshirt4Burma.
“Aside from occasional high-profile cases, the international community is now mostly silent about the continued detention of political prisoners. This must change. The NLD-led government needs to face international pressure over the detention of political prisoners just as the previous military dictatorship did,” added Farmener.
The recent case making headlines in most parts of the world is the one of the two Reuters journalists who face criminal charges for breaching Myanmar’s colonial era Official Secrets Act. They had been investigating the Tatmadaw’s actions in military operations conducted in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and were accused of being in possession of secret government cases. If found guilty, they face up to 14 years in jail.
The duo are currently being held at Insein Prison which is notorious for its inhumane conditions and brutality shown towards inmates. So far, they have been treated well but the same cannot be said of political prisoners languishing there which aren’t in the international spotlight. Accounts of torture, consignment to tiny solitary confinement spaces, malnutrition, and disease are just some of the many horrifying cases that have been reported. The subject of prison reform itself will open another Pandora’s box of issues related to the lack of political will.
Credit where its due, the release of political prisoners is always a welcome move but as these individuals walk free, more than 200 still sit behind bars for so called political crimes, awaiting their release. They are at the complete mercy of the government and military and perhaps only another publicity opportunity like this might see them reunited with their loved ones again.