At this juncture, one of the most important decisions for the government to take, definitely, is the release of all political prisoners. This is a decision that, unlike the situation in border areas and others that may require additional measures, depends only on the decision of the President. The President of Myanmar has the authority, according to the Constitution, to issue amnesties to prisoners without any other condition.
And this decision cannot wait any longer. We must never forget that political prisoners are those women and men who offered their lives and liberty, their torture and their suffering throughout the years, to force the former military government to accelerate the so-called Seven Step Road Map to Democracy, a road map that, until the 2007 Saffron Revolution, the military government had been postponing and delaying.
I hope, therefore, that the President of Myanmar takes the opportunity that the visit of the US Secretary of State offers, and responds to what the whole international community has been calling for: to put an end to the arbitrary detention of hundreds of political prisoners.
The new Government of Myanmar, all political parties, and above all the people of Myanmar, they all owe these men and women behind bars the opportunity for a meaningful democratic transition, and the prospect for a better future.
The government has taken clear steps towards reform, and we need to encourage them to continue on this direction. Now, again, why is it that political prisoners are seen to be the subject of bargaining with the international community?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has decided that Myanmar will chair the organization in 2014, but why is it that hundreds of political prisoners are still in jail, prisoners, most of whom suffered extreme abuses in Myanmar prisons?
Prof. Tomas Ojea Quintana, Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma,
2011.12.04 The Irrawaddy - United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma