World Press Organisations Call on Myanmar to Release Ailing Journalist
The World Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum have asked the military rulers of Myanmar to release journalist U Win Tin from jail immediately following reports that his medical condition has worsened.
"We are gravely concerned about the sharply deteriorating health of the 72-year-old U Win Tin, winner of WAN's 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom, who has been imprisoned for the past 13 years," the Paris-based WAN and the WEF said in a letter sent Wednesday to Colonel Tin Hlaing, Interior Minister of Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"It is our organisations' view that the continued imprisonment and negligence of U Win Tin's serious health problems constitutes a deep blemish on the international standing of Myanmar which can only be erased by his release," said the letter, signed by WAN President Seok Hyun Hong and WEF President Gloria Brown Anderson. "We believe that his continued detention remains a barrier to peace in Myanmar and of great alarm to the international community."
The call came as foreign ministers from Myanmar and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations prepared to meet in Brunei on Thursday with their counterparts from the United States, Europe, and other key trading partners.
U Win Tin is the former editor of the daily newspaper Hanthawati, vice-chair of Myanmar's Writer's Association and, along with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a founder of the National League for Democracy. He was arrested in July 1989, tried in a closed military court and sentenced to 14 years of prison for allegedly being a member of the banned Communist Party of Myanmar. This sentence has since been increased to 21 years in jail.
U Win Tin's imprisonment has been plagued by serious illness and his condition reportedly worsened in early July. He has had two heart attacks and a hernia operation and suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and spinal inflammation. He was returned to his special cell in Rangoon's Insein prison on 20 May after being treated for several months in the city's general hospital.
The letter from WAN and the WEF said:
"We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications in 100 countries, to call on you to release journalist U Win Tin from jail immediately.
"We are gravely concerned about the sharply deteriorating health of the 72-year-old U Win Tin, winner of WAN's 2001 Golden Pen of Freedom, who has been imprisoned for the past 13 years. U Win Tin, former editor of the daily newspaper Hanthawati, vice-chair of Myanmar's Writer's Association and founder of the National League for Democracy, was arrested in July 1989, tried in a closed military court and sentenced to 14 years of prison for allegedly being a member of the banned Communist Party of Myanmar. This sentence has since been increased to 21 years in jail.
"U Win Tin's condition reportedly worsened in early July, with haemorrhoid pains, problems stemming from an old urinary infection and prostate troubles. His imprisonment has been plagued by serious illness. He has had two heart attacks and a hernia operation and suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and spinal inflammation. He was returned to his special cell in Rangoon's Insein prison on 20 May after being treated for several months in the city's general hospital.
"It is our organisations' view that the continued imprisonment and negligence of U Win Tin's serious health problems constitutes a deep blemish on the international standing of Myanmar which can only be erased by his release. We believe that his continued detention remains a barrier to peace in Myanmar and of great alarm to the international community.
"Furthermore, the detention of U Win Tin constitutes a clear breach of his right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions and we remind you that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights considers that 'detention, as punishment for the peaceful expression of an opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a grave violation of human rights'.
"We respectfully call on your government to demonstrate strength, compassion and sincerity in the reconciliation process by releasing U Win Tin and by enabling him to receive the medical treatment he so urgently requires."
WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 71 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 100 countries, 13 news agencies and nine regional and world-wide press groups.
The WEF is the division of WAN that represents senior news executives.
Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 25 rue d'Astorg, 75008 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr
--- Larry Kilman
Director of Communications
World Association of Newspapers
25, rue d'Astorg
75008 Paris France
Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00
Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48
E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr Visit our web site at http://www.wan-press.org