Quintana Flies to Naypyidaw

By SAW YAN NAING

The visiting UN human rights envoy to Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, visited the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, on Wednesday morning where he was expected to meet with Burmese premier Thein Sein, according to sources.

However, according to opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win, the NLD has not been notified by the Burmese authorities about whether the envoy will meet with its party heads or with detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

On Tuesday, Quintana held meetings with diplomats in Rangoon, including officials from the United Nations Information Centre, sources close to the UN said.

Quintana will reportedly hold a press conference at Rangoon Airport before leaving Burma on Thursday. The UN human rights envoy arrived in Burma on Saturday on a six-day mission and was immediately flown by helicopter to a DKBA base in Karen State, surprising and disappointing many Burma observers. The DKBA (Democratic Karen Buddhist Army) is an armed group that signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling junta in 1995, which has recently launched a series of attacks on Karen rebel bases near the Thai-Burmese border. The DKBA is also accused of human rights violations against Karen villagers.

Coinciding with the arrival of the UN’s human rights envoy in Burma, the Burmese courts have this week reduced the prison sentences on several convicted political activists. Quintana held meetings with Burmese political prisoners in Insein Prison on Monday.

On Tuesday, a court in Burma’s second largest city, Mandalay, reduced the sentences of two activists by 16 years each, according to their lawyer, Myint Thway.

Pregnant activist Kay Thi Aung and dissident Wai Myo Htoo, who were both sentenced in December to 26 years in prison for their part in pro-democracy activities, had their sentences commuted to 10 years each, he said.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Kay Thi Aung’s husband said, “In fact, Ma Kay Thi Aung is not guilty. The fact that she suffered a miscarriage in prison is a human rights abuse. I would only be satisfied if the authorities released her, not just reduced her sentence.

“I think they are just doing it while Mr Quintana is in Burma, and to ease international pressure,” he added.

Kay Thi Aung, 23, a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, suffered the miscarriage because of a lack of adequate medical care in prison, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).