Zarganar, Other Dissidents Sent to Remote Prisons

By SAW YAN NAING

Six Burmese dissidents, including Zarganar, Burma’s most famous comedian, were sent to prisons in isolated areas across the country on Thursday, according to sources in Rangoon.

The media-friendly Zarganar, who received a 59-year prison sentence last month for a number of offenses relating to his outspoken criticism of the Burmese junta, was transferred from Rangoon’s Insein Prison to Myitkyina Prison in Kachin State, the sources said.

Speaking with The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Zarganar’s mother, Kyi Oo, said: “I’m not happy and his father is unhappy, too. But there’s nothing we can say about it in a country with no justice.

“This is the way he has chosen, so now he must face this persecution. At a time when even monks are beaten, we don’t know who to rely on,” she added, referring to a military crackdown on protesting Buddhist monks last year.

After hearing about an international appeal from more than 100 former world leaders urging the United Nations to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma, Kyi Oo said she hoped the world body would take action to realize this goal.

On Wednesday, a letter signed by 112 former presidents and prime ministers from more than 50 countries was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, urging him to visit Burma before the end of this year to pressure the regime to release all political prisoners, including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

Among those transferred to remote prisons today was Zaw Thet Htwe, a colleague of Zarganar who was arrested with him in June, when they were both distributing relief supplies to cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta.

Zaw Thet Htwe, who received a 15-year prison sentence, was sent to Taunggyi Prison in Shan State.

Thant Zin Aung, a video journalist who was also given a 15-year sentence, was sent to Pa-an Prison in Karen State, while an associate, Tin Maung Aye, who was sentenced to 29 years in prison, was relocated to Myingyan Prison in Mandalay Division.

Meanwhile, Yan Naing Thu and Wai Lwin Myo, who are members of a dissident group known as Generation Wave, were also separately transferred to prisons in remote parts of Burma on Thursday.

Sources said that Yan Naing Thu was sent to Kyaukpyu Prison in Arakan State, while Wai Lwin Myo was moved to Mong Saik Prison in Shan State.

In a sign that the junta’s crackdown on dissidents is set to continue, on Thursday, Dee Nyein Lin, a member of another dissident organization known as All Burma Federation of Student Unions, appeared at a court in South Dagon Township in Rangoon.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP), some 1,085 dissidents were detained following last year’s anti-government protests, which were the largest seen in the military-ruled country in nearly two decades. Of these, 388 have received prison sentences for their involvement in the unrest.

An estimated 215 pro-democracy activists were sentenced in November, and 136 of them have been transferred to prisons in remote areas around Burma, said AAPP.