After being released and returning to his hometown, the Burmese comedian Zargana thanked PEN and other organizations for their support during his imprisonment. He also expressed his disappointment that the government was not standing by its commitment to release more political prisoners from Burmese jails. I have talked to him. He is free now,” Zargana’s sister-in-law, Ma Nyein, told AFP on 12 October. The release of Zargana in Burma, comes a day after state television announced an amnesty for 6,300 prisoners on humanitarian grounds. The announcement came hours after a government-appointed human rights panel called for a pardon for Burma’s political “prisoners of conscience.” It had not been known whether the authorities would include in the release the approximately 2,000 political prisoners being held in Burma.  In an interview with the BBC after Zargana said, “If I do something wrong they will send me back. I’m not happy today because there are so many of my friends still in prison.”

Story of Zargana

Zargana was first arrested during the student uprisings in October 1988 after making fun of the government, but was freed six months later. However, he was imprisoned again for four years after impersonating General Saw Maung in front of a crowd of several thousand at the Yankin Teacher’s Training College Stadium in Rangoon on May 19, 1990. Upon his conviction, Zargana was held in solitary confinement at Insein Prison, where he began writing poetry. Zargana was again arrested on the evening of June 4, 2008, after leading a private relief effort to deliver aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck on May 2, 2008. Zargana had given several interviews to overseas radio stations and other media about his relief work and the needs of the people. He also reportedly critisized state media reports about the effects of the cyclone, which the government claimed were minor. On November 21, 2008, Zargana was sentenced to 45 years in prison for violating the Electronics Act, which regulates electronic communications. On November 27, 2008, he was sentenced to a further 14 years in prison for offenses under four sections of the criminal code, which brought his total sentence to 59 years. However on February 14, 2009, the Rangoon Division Court reduced Zargana’s prison term by 24 years, leaving him to serve 35 years. The years in prison have seriously effected Zargana’s health,  collapsed in the Myitkyina prison in late April 2009, and is reportedly suffering from heart problems, jaundice, and a stomach ulcer.

Releasing human rights defenders

Burma has freed up to 100 political prisoners in a gesture the country’s elected government hope will be seen by the international community as a move toward liberalisation. However, several key political detainees have been kept behind bars, shattering hopes of prominent human right campaigners of a broader amnesty. Relatives of prisoners gathered at jails around the country on 12 October to await the releases after the country’s new civilian president, without disclosing any names, issued an amnesty for inmates, many of them ordinary criminals. “The freedom of each individual is invaluable, but I wish that all political prisoners would be released,” said Burma’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigner and Nobel peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. A major release of political detainees has been eagerly awaited by Burma’s opposition, as well as foreign governments and the UN, as a gesture toward liberalisation by the elected government after decades of harsh military rule. By midday, about two dozen political prisoners appeared to have been freed, according to interviews with prison officials and families of detainees. A Thai-based group that monitors detainees in Burma, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, said the total number was at least 100.

Economics and Human rights

One of the reasons behind decision to grant amnesty is Burma’s resource-rich economy, hobbled for years by dictatorship, isolation and under-investment, is set to take off, if western sanctions and restrictions are lifted. The release of political prisoners has always been the foremost demand of the US, Britain and others. If this demand is fulfilled, even partially, then pressure will grow on the EU and the US to ease back. That pressure will come in part from countries such as Germany that, in the case of Burma, have consistently prioritised commerce and trade over reform. Another junta consideration is China‘s increasingly overbearing behaviour, which contrasts unfavourably with the attractive blandishments, real and potential, attendant on improved relations with India, Japan and others intent on curbing Beijing’s ambitions. China reacted with imperious displeasure to the postponement of the Irrawaddy dam project. India’s non-judgmental handling of Burma over the years has been much less threatening. No coincidence then that Thein Sein will be visiting Delhi this week. For its part, Japan is quietly rebuilding its bridges to Burma. Burma’s rulers are also motivated by a desire for rehabilitation in the premier regional forum, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), whose rotating chairmanship they hope to hold in 2014 reports British Guardian.

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