MYANMAR Junta Releases Some Political Prisoners in Independence Day Amnesty

Posted by Asia Views | Jan 5, 2023 | 0 |

Irrawaddy-Jan 4

Myanmar’s military regime has released the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government’s Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture, Thura U Aung Ko, philanthropist and writer Daw Than Myint Aung and ex-NLD information officer, writer U Htin Lin Oo, along with some detained journalists, as part of the junta’s prisoner amnesty to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence from the UK. The junta announced on Wednesday that 7,021 prisoners were freed from jails across the country. It is not yet clear how many political prisoners were among those released. Family members said that former Brigadier General Thura U Aung Ko was released from Yangon’s Insein Prison on Tuesday night. The 75-year-old was arrested after the February 2021 coup and charged with alleged corruption. He

U Tun Kyi, the head of a political prisoners group, said that Thura U Aung Ko is known to be in poor health and that his release was a cynical ploy by the regime. “The junta released the political prisoner hostages for its own political gain,” said U Tun Kyi, referring to international pressure on the regime to free political prisoners. As of Tuesday, some 16,862 people have been detained by the junta since the coup, of whom 3,463 have been released, according to the rights group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The AAPP’s joint secretary Ko Bo Kyi said that with many political prisoners still locked up, the regime’s amnesty does not herald any meaningful changes for Myanmar. “That will happen only when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Myint and all the other political prisoners are freed,” he added.

Both Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Win Myint were arrested on the first day of the coup. Former State Counselor Suu Kyi has been sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison, while ousted President U Win Myint has been given 12 years by the regime. Read more at: https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-junta-releases-some-political-prisoners-in-independence-day-amnesty.html

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

MYANMAR Junta Releases Some Political Prisoners in Independence Day Amnesty

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