AP-Amnesty Sought for Myanmar Priso

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Subject: AP-Amnesty Sought for Myanmar Prisoner

Wednesday July 28 9:28 PM ET

Amnesty Sought for Myanmar Prisoner

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - The human rights group Amnesty International on
Wednesday called for the immediate release of a three-year-old girl in
Myanmar the group described as ``the world's youngest prisoner of
conscience.''

The girl was reportedly one of 19 people detained last week in a move by
authorities to stop an anti-government protest in the central city of Pegu,
also called Bago.

Eight of those detained were family members of one activist, Kyaw Wunna,
whom authorities had been unable to catch, Amnesty International said in a
press release. The eight reportedly included his wife, Ma Khin Khin Leh, and
their three-year-old daughter Thaint Wunna Khin.

The arrests were first reported Saturday by the All Burma Students'
Democratic Front, a Myanmar exile opposition group.

Asked earlier this week about the arrests, a government spokesman said
``some political extremists'' in the town were called in for questioning for
distributing political leaflets.

The spokesman said Kyaw Wunna was not among those detained, but did not
directly answer a question of whether his daughter had been detained.

``Locking up a young child - effectively holding her hostage to force her
father out of hiding - exposes the extent of the Burmese government's
ruthlessness in trying to stamp out political dissent,'' said Amnesty.

The London-based human rights organization also said said detainees,
especially young political activists, are frequently tortured and
ill-treated in Myanmar's detention centers, particularly in the early stages
of detention.

The military government of Myanmar, also know as Burma, has been harshly
criticized by human rights groups and many Western governments for its
suppression of civil liberties and refusal to turn over power to a
democratically elected government.