The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By Myanmar Times On July 15, 2013 One year ago this week – President U Thein Sein stood next to David Cameron in London and told reporters, “By the end of the year there will be no prisoners of conscience in Myanmar.” A member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) looks through prisoner records on July 10. (Yu Yu/The Myanmar Times)A member of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) looks through prisoner records on July 10. (Yu Yu/The Myanmar Times) He touted his newly formed Remaining Political Prisoner Scrutiny Committee as the mechanism to achieve this aim. The committee, he said, would review the cases of all “prisoners of conscience” and make recommendations for their release. One year later, dozens of democracy activists sit in jail for non-violent political offences, while hundreds of others have been arrested on spurious criminal charges linked to political activities. Since January, there have been few prisoners...

December 19, 2013 The Honorable Mr. Barack Obama President of the United States of America The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC, 20500 Dear President Obama, We are writing to express our concern that the Burmese government is continuing to arrest farmers, activists, human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities at alarmingly high rates. These arrests discredit the Burmese government’s claim that all political prisoners/prisoners of conscience (hereinafter “political prisoners”) will be released by the end of December 2013.[1] Our organizations and your Administration have recognized the Burmese government’s progress toward releasing military-era political prisoners. We urge your Administration to likewise recognize that the Burmese government also continues to arrest, prosecute, sentence, and imprison, under both old and new laws, a growing number of people for exercising their rights to free speech, association, and assembly and speaking o...