88 New Generation Students

Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi to Meet Once Again
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, September 29, 2011


Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to meet Aung Kyi, Burma’s minister of labor and minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, on Friday afternoon. This will be Suu Kyi’s fourth meeting with officials of Burma’s new government since she was released from house arrest on Nov. 13, 2010.

The meeting will reportedly take place at the Sane Lae Kan Thar state guesthouse in Rangoon at 1 p.m. On Friday, but Nyan Win, a spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy that no detailed information about the meeting had been announced.

Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi previously met twice this year, once in July and once in August. She also met with Burma’s President Thein Sein in August. Statements issued after each meeting said that both parties were satisfied with the discussions that took place.

There is speculation in the Rangoon-based political community that issues such as the release of political prisoners and the party registration of the NLD will be discussed at the meeting on Friday.

On Tuesday, Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin addressed the issue of political prisoners at the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, saying that an early amnesty program is being considered. He also asked the international community to lift the sanctions which have been imposed on Burma.

Aye Thar Aung, the secretary of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, said that the government must release the political prisoners if they want the international community to lift the sanctions.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aye Thar Aung said, “We really hope to see the release of the political prisoners, such as the 88 Generation Student leaders, the ethnic leaders, comedian Zaganar, etc. Although we heard some rumors about the release of prisoners, we can’t confirm yet whether political prisoners are included.”

On Thursday afternoon, there were rumors that Zaganar, a well-known Burmese comedian, and Min Ko Naing, a leader of the 88 Generation Students Group, both of whom are serving long sentences, had been released from prison. But their respective families confirmed that it was just a rumor.

Suu Kyi has repeatedly called for a dialogue with the Burmese government since her release late last year after more than seven years under house arrest. Her release came just days after Burma held its first elections in two decades.

A retired major general, Aung Kyi held a number of meetings with Suu Kyi in the wake of a crackdown on the monk-led protests in September 2007 that drew widespread international condemnation and brought renewed calls for political reform in the military-ruled country. Observers noted, however, that the talks were chiefly intended to lessen pressure on the regime and never produced any substantive results.