Suu Kyi Reassures 88 Generation Families

Family members of Burmese prisoners sit behind barricades and wait in front of Burma's notorious Insein prison in Rangoon on Jan. 3. (Photo: AP)

Seeking to reassure the families of political prisoners still behind bars, Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday that the country's military-backed government has committed to a time frame for their release and she remains confident it will be honored.

Suu Kyi made the remarks at a meeting with relatives of nine 88 Generation student group leaders still serving lengthy sentences despite a series of amnesties that has seen the release of hundreds of political prisoners since last year, including a clemency ordered by President Thein Sein earlier this week to mark Burma's Independence Day.

San Lin, the brother of 88 Generation leader Nyan Lin, who is serving a 65-year sentence in Lashio Prison in Shan State, said that Suu Kyi told the relatives of imprisoned activists that the government has not yet completed the process of releasing prisoners.

However, she did not elaborate on when they could expect to see their loved ones freed, he added.

To mark Burma's 64th Independence Day on Jan. 4, the government released 6,656 prisoners, of whom around 30 were political detainees close to completing their sentences. There are believed to be between 600 and 1,500 political prisoners still in detention.

According to Aung Aung Tun, the brother of prominent student leader Ko Ko Gyi, who is serving a 65-year sentence in Mong Set Prison in Shan State, Suu Kyi suggested that the delay in releasing more prisoners could be due to a conflict between the government and the military.

It was the second time this week that Suu Kyi has sought to allay fears that the pace of reforms initiated
last year is slowing, raising questions about Thein Sein's willingness or ability to follow through on promises of more changes to come.

“I have confidence in the president's influence, as I frankly expressed some time ago,” she said on Wednesday. “But please keep it firmly in mind that one person alone cannot enact reforms.”

Suu Kyi said recently that her priorities in 2012 would be to help end Burma's ethnic conflicts, implement the rule of law in Burma and amend undemocratic elements in the 2008 Constitution.

Restoring the rule of law is very important in terms of resolving the issue of political prisoners, she said, because without it, anyone can be arrested at any time.