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AP-Myanmar Releases Young Prisoner



Thursday July 29 12:26 PM ET

Myanmar Releases Young Prisoner

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Myanmar officials freed a 3-year-old girl described
as the world's youngest prisoner of conscience, Amnesty International said
today.

The girl was one of 19 people detained earlier this month by authorities to
stop an anti-government protest in the central city of Bago, also called
Pegu, according to Amnesty and an exile opposition group, the All Burma
Students' Democratic Front.

The girl, Thaint Wunna Khin, is the daughter of an opposition activist, Kyaw
Wunna, whom police have been unable to catch. His wife and six other
relatives were also picked up in the sweep, the groups said.

``Amnesty welcomes the child's release but also asks that the others be
released, as they were not advocating violent behavior,'' said researcher
Donna Guest from the London-based human rights group.

Amnesty said it had learned today that the girl was held for five days, then
was released July 23 and was now staying with relatives. Her mother and the
other detainees are still being held, while Kyaw Wunna remains at large,
Guest said.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Amnesty had been demanding the girl's release, accusing the police of
``effectively holding her hostage to force her father out of hiding.'' The
group said the arrest showed the ``extent of the Burmese government's
ruthlessness in trying to stamp out political dissent.''

Earlier today, Myanmar's government issued a statement calling many of the
reported details of the arrests ``untrue,'' but it appeared to stop short of
denying that the child had been detained.

``The government categorically rejects the allegation that a 3-year-old
child has been detained to force her father out of hiding,'' the statement
said.

The arrests, which began around July 17 and lasted several days, were first
reported Saturday by the exile opposition group ABSDF. Guest said Amnesty
verified the detentions through other sources.

The military government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been harshly
criticized by human rights groups and Western countries for suppression of
civil liberties and refusal to turn over power to an elected government.


The government, meanwhile, announced that two jailed members of the National
League for Democracy, the political party led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi, have been freed.

Kyaw Sein, 81, had been sentenced to five years in February, and was freed
out of consideration for his age, a statement said. Thein Htun, 61, had been
serving a seven-year term since 1996.

Both had been convicted of violating the Emergency Provision Act, a catchall
used to curb political dissent.