U Win Tin's freedom reminds that Burmese democracy remains imprisoned, says SEAPA PDF Print E-mail
International Alerts
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is elated by news of Burmese journalist U Win Tin's release from Burma's notorious Insein prison.

 

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Longest serving Burmese political prisoner, U Win Tin was released on 23 Sept
Emerging from 19 years of incarceration -- the longest for any political prisoner in military-ruled Burma -- the 79-year-old journalist and dissident on 24 September 2008 immediately rededicated himself to the Burmese people's struggle for democracy.

SEAPA -- a coalition of press freedom organizations from the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia -- reasserts its solidarity with U Win Tin, with the Burmese journalists, writers, and artists struggling for free expression, and with the democratic aspirations of the Burmese people.

U Win Tin's commitment to democracy -- unbroken despite two decades behind bars -- is testament to the strength of the human spirit as well as the rightness of the cause of freedom.

As we celebrate the freedom of U Win Tin, however, SEAPA reminds that more than 2000 people remain imprisoned in Burma for their political beliefs. At least eight of these prisoners of conscience are journalists and writers. The world must continue to push for their unconditional release as well.

The fact is that Burma remains one of the worst places in the world to be a journalist, to be anybody speaking his or her mind. Publications are so thoroughly censored in Yangon that there are no independent daily newspapers in the country. All broadcasting networks are state-controlled. The Internet is monitored and filtered, not to mention economically inaccessible to 99 percent of the population, and the junta's determination to control the flow of information in the country is so paranoid that even fax machines and modems must be registered with the state.

In this environment, the freedom of U Win Tin is as unexpected as it is hopeful, but it is also no indication that things are necessarily going to be better for the Burmese media any time soon. Until all imprisoned Burmese journalists and dissidents are freed, U Win Tin will remain a symbol of words and thoughts imprisoned in Burma. SEAPA joins the international community in rallying around the democratic fight he vows to continue.

 

The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=ECtw3&m=1aIVwV4rKzKXin&b=cMDgLddbUyYiF4aLgOxGug) is a coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Established in November 1998, it is the only regional network with the specific mandate of promoting and protecting press freedom throughout Southeast Asia.

SEAPA is composed of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (Indonesia), the Jakarta-based Institute for the Study of the Free Flow of Information (ISAI), the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and the Thai Journalists Association.

SEAPA also has partners in Malaysia, Cambodia, and East Timor, and undertakes projects and programs for press freedom throughout the
region.

For inquiries, please contact us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call +662 243 5579.
 
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