Political prisoners will not be released – the amnesty is a sham!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses Burma's government of trying to deceive the international public by announcing an amnesty for prisoners shortly before the US President Barack Obama's visits the country. "The amnesty is a sham – because political prisoners will not be released," said the STP's Asia-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday. On Thursday, Burma's government had announced the release of 452 detainees. The hopes of the human rights activists, hope that there would be at least 178 political prisoners among them, were disappointed.

The STP also criticized the date that was chosen for the amnesty: right before President Obama's first visit to Burma on Monday. "The international attention due to Obama's visit is used as a media coup. This is offensive and clearly shows that Burma's leaders are not really devoted to sustainable democracy or peace. If they were, they would also have to release all the political prisoners immediately," said Delius.

While Burma's government would like to be internationally praised for the policy of opening up the country, it also fights wars in some nationality areas. "In Kachin state, a war is fought with methods that are banned by international law, just like under the military junta in the past two decades," said Delius. Famine and rape are used as methods of warfare, civilians are displaced or killed. Security forces in Arakhan state encourage attacks against the Muslim Rohingya, who are still not being recognized as citizens with equal rights.

"Burma's democratization policy must finally also apply for all political prisoners and for the nationalities," demands the STP. As long as political prisoners are still detained and as long as Burma's leadership shows no serious effort to bring peace to the nationality regions, the international pressure on Burma's government should not be reduced. The STP has therefore appealed to President Obama to use his visit to Burma to advocate for the persecuted Rohingya to be recognized as Burmese citizens – which the Muslim minority was denied so far, although they have been residing in Burma for centuries.