Burma remains one of the world's most repressive and closed societies.
(Human Rights Watch)

Led by a shadowy clique of generals, Burma has been under military rule since 1962.  The military government has announced that it will hold the first elections in 20 years in 2010 -as the next step of its "roadmap to democracy." The generals are hoping that the rest of the world, particularly its main trading partners and diplomatic supporters-China, India, Thailand, Singapore, and Russia-will accept a sham electoral process and treat the government as a legitimate member of the international community.  

But instead of addressing Burma's human rights problems, in the past two years the military government has intensified arrests and intimidation of political activists and government critics. The number of political prisoners has doubled, offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party have been forcibly closed, and freedom of expression, assembly, and association have remained almost nonexistent. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. On August 11, 2009, she received a prison sentence of 3 years, based on spurious charges of violating the conditions of her house arrest. This sentence was subsequently reduced to 18 months, to be served under house arrest. Other Burmese activists have been locked up for "crimes" such as providing assistance to cyclone victims and peacefully protesting against forced labor.

In the run-up to the 2010 polls, Human Rights Watch is launching its "2100 by 2010" campaign to press for the release of some 2,100 political prisoners currently held in Burma. The campaign involves the global public and will provide leverage with key governments and United Nations agencies ahead of the 2010 elections, which cannot be considered credible as long as the opposition is in prison.
http://www.hrw.org/

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• Activists and anyone outspoken against military rule have been routinely locked up in Burma's prisons for years.

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  There are now more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma--more than double the number in early 2007.

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  There are 43 prisons holding political activists in Burma, and over 50 labor camps where prisoners are forced into hard labor projects.

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  Beginning in late 2008, closed courts and courts inside prisons sentenced more than 300 activists including political figures, human rights defenders, labor activists, artists, journalists, internet bloggers, and Buddhist monks and nuns to lengthy prison terms. Some prison terms handed down were in excess of one hundred years.

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  The activists were mainly charged under provisions from Burma's archaic Penal Code that criminalizes free expression, peaceful demonstrations, and forming organizations.

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  The sentencing was the second phase of a larger crackdown that began with the brutal suppression of peaceful protests in August and September 2007. The authorities arrested many of the activists during and in the immediate aftermath of the 2007 protests or in raids that swept Rangoon and other cities in Burma in late 2007 and 2008.

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  More than 20 prominent activists and journalists, including Burma's most famous comedian, Zargana, were arrested for having spoken out about obstacles to humanitarian relief following Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma in May 2008.
  (Human Rights Watch)
  http://www.hrw.org/en/home

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Human Rights Watch is launching the campaign 2100 by 2010, the purpose of which is to secure the release of all 2,100 political prisoners in Burma.

While the UN and foreign governments such as the US, Australia, Canada, EU Member states, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and India, have repeatedly called on Burma’s rulers to free all political prisoners, so far that has been met with resistance, and only a handful of political prisoners have been released.

In the past five years, 38,000 prisoners have been released, but only 461 of them, or 1.2 percent, were political activists. Release of political prisoners should be a core component of all bilateral dialogues, trade, and energy deals for any states dealing with the Burmese government.

Please urge Asian leaders to use their influence to secure the release of political prisoners in Burma.
http://www.kintera.org/c.nlIWIgN2JwE/b.5454837/k.D2ED/
2100_by_2010/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx

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    Help Justice Defeat Tyranny!
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals/ 

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On behalf of everyone at Human Rights Watch,
thank you for your partnership in our work.

                  
            www.hrw.org/free-burmas-prisoners. 

                         

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