MPs debate definition of ‘political prisoner’

22nd July 2015
On Tuesday in parliament, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Brig-Gen Kyaw Kyaw Tun said the term ‘political prisoner’ is
unconstitutional as it contravenes the charter’s Article 347, which provides every person equal rights under the law.
...Speaking to DVB after the parliamentary session, May Win Myint said, “I raised the question to the ministry as I am a former
political prisoner myself and I believe that a prisoner of conscience can in no way be the same as a criminal inmate. The deputy
minister said the system that classified different statuses for inmates had been abolished.”
She said that Kyaw Kyaw Tun added that the Union Revolutionary Council government, of the former military dictator Gen. Ne Win, on
15 January 1964 issued an ordinance abolishing classification of different political prisoner statuses to ensure there is no
privileged class of inmates in Burmese prisons.
“He [Kyaw Kyaw Tun] implied that political inmates should be treated the same as criminal inmates to avoid discrimination – I am
saddened to hear that,” said May Win Myint.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the chairperson of May Win Myint’s party, the National League for Democracy, weighed in on behalf of her colleague
after the parliamentary session when she told reporters that the deputy home minister’s explanation is inconsistent with government
policy.
“Someone who lands in jail for political reasons is simply a political prisoner,” she said. “The government itself formed a
committee to oversee the release of political prisoners. Now the deputy Home Affairs minister is rejecting the term. I think this is
inconsistent.”

Ref:dvb.no