Narinjara News
Akyab, March 10
Fate of Arakanese political
prisoners uncertain in Burma
There were not any Arakanese
politicians among the recently released prisoners by the
There are at lease 25 Arakanese
political prisoners in several jails in
U Khaing Soe and another 19
prisoners from Arakan Communist party have been held
in the Thayawaddy jail since their arrest in 1986,
after they raided the town of
In the incident, the group took at least 40 firearms from
the police department and 1.6 million Burmese Kyat from the
government bank of Minbya.
Soon after the incident, U Khaing
Soe, leader of the rebel group, and U Soe Myint, a
prominent lawyer, were arrested by the Burmese army, along with several
followers, in
According to sources, they have been issued amnesty four
times since the present military government took over power in
One political leader said that the communist party is not
currently on Burmese soil, as the party is totally abolished and that the
military government should release them along with other prisoners.
In the Akyab jail there are about
10 political prisoners, including U Tha Tun Aung, U Lon Shaw, U San Shwe Oo, and an abbot of Nasi Wra monastery, all who were
arrested by the authority in 2001, after a Muslim and Buddhist riot in Akyab.
Akyab sources said U Tha Tun Aung and the others were
not actually involved in the riot, but the authority arrested them in
retaliation for the people who lead the democracy movement in Akyab, in 1988.
Another prominent student and youth leader, as well as the
chairman of Rakhaing Patriotic Literature Club
(RPLC), Khaing Kung San, who is now based in
Since his arrest, he has been sentenced for seven
years of imprisonment by the Burmese authority, but the location and name of
the jail where he has been detained is unknown, said a relative.
There is currently a rumor in
Despite the amnesty, Arakanese
political prisoners are cannot to be released from jail through bribing the
jail authority because they are well known political prisoners in Arakan. The fate of the Arakanese
prisoners is still unknown, said a relative of one political prisoner. #
For further information, please contact Narinjara:
Phone: 880 189 42 55 36 (Mobile)
E-mail: narinjar@aitlbd.net / narinjara@narinjaranews.com
(Post address)
Full Narinjara archive in the Online Burma/Myanmar Library
at