Political prisoners among 6,000 freed in Myanmar

Yangon, February 27, (Reuters): Nineteen political prisoners, including allies of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and five Buddhist monks, have been freed in military-ruled Myanmar as part of a general amnesty, an exile group said on Sunday. The regime announced the release of over 6,000 inmates on Friday after United Nations human rights reporter Tomas Ojea Quintana ended a five-day visit during which he called for the progressive release of "prisoners of conscience."

On Saturday, 16 political detainees were freed from Yangon's Insein prison and three from a prison in northern Kachin state, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said on its website www.aappb.org. The Insein group included five Buddhist monks arrested in 2003 and members of Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and other political groups.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi, who began her latest detention in May 2003, is among more than 2,000 people jailed in Myanmar for their political or religious beliefs, rights groups say. The military junta, which has ruled unchecked since 1962, denies the existence of any political prisoners, saying all detainees have committed crimes.

State-owned MRTV said on Friday the prisoners were being released for the "social consideration of their families" and to take part in elections promised for 2010, part of a seven-step "roadmap to democracy."

Western governments dismiss the roadmap as a charade, and human rights groups accuse the regime of seeking to eliminate all political opposition ahead of the election. Special courts have sentenced scores of dissidents to lengthy prison terms of up to 65 years in recent months. The most prominent activists have been sent to the furthest corners of the country, making it almost impossible for relatives to deliver food and medicine to them, raising the possibility of the prisoners dying behind bars.

Among those released on Saturday was Thet Wai, an NLD official in Yangon who was sentenced to two years in jail in 2008 for reporting incidents of forced labor to the International Labor Organisation (ILO), an NLD spokesman said. Three other NLD members were freed from Myitkyina Prison in northern Kachin state. They included Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, an NLD MP elected in the 1990 election that his party won only to see the military ignore the results. He had been in prison since 1991.

Over 200 mutinous paramilitary soldiers captured in Bangladesh

Rangamai, February 27, 2009 (UJI Correspondent): Elite-force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has so far nabbed over 200 mutinous soldiers of paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on their way to flee since Wednesday's revolt, said a senior official on Friday.

Deputy Director of RAB Major Hamdur Rahman told Press on Friday night, "Over 200 mutineers were detained across the country," as they fled from BDR headquarters in capital Dhaka where they staged a bloody revolt against their army officers. He said RAB will continue its drive to nab all other BDR soldiers who escaped from their headquarters in civilian dresses after committing the tragic incident which left at least 71 dead. Rahamn said it is assumed that there were 10,000 to 12,000 soldiers inside the BDR headquarters at the time of mutiny but he could not tell how many of them have escaped.

Sources said RAB has tightened its drive after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasian Friday afternoon said mutineers directly involved in killing during the revolt will come under trial. Hasina, who granted general amnesty to soldiers, on Friday after visiting some victims of the mutiny in a military hospital, ranged the bell of warning that those responsible for the deaths and injuries would come under punishment.

Some BDR soldiers started to flee after the mutiny occurred on Wednesday morning. More soldiers escaped after surrendering their arms on Thursday evening after Hasina warned of stern action in her address to nation. Sources said RAB Friday searched buses and trucks and set up check points in highways and strategic points leading out of Dhaka.

Bangladesh's Home Minister Sahara Khatun told reporters at a press briefing here on Friday evening that a six-member high-powered committee has been formed to investigate the incident and give a report within seven days. Thousands of BDR soldiers staged revolt against their army officers on Wednesday at their headquarters in Dhaka on demands of higher salary and better remuneration. They also complained they were repressed by army officers and their basic rights were ignored for a long time.

Tensions high after Tibetan monk shot in China

Beijing, February 27, 2009 (AFP): Tensions were high in a town in southwest China Saturday after police shot a Tibetan monk who set himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule, activist groups and residents said.

The alleged incident comes ahead of an ultra-sensitive few weeks in Buddhist Tibet and neighboring provinces of western China, with March 10 the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising that led to the Dalai Lama fleeing to India. The monk, in his late 20s, was shot after dousing himself with petrol and setting himself alight in the Tibetan-populated town of Aba in Sichuan province on Friday afternoon, the London-based group Free Tibet reported.

It was not known whether he had died as he was immediately surrounded by police and taken away after being shot, according to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), another activist group based in the United States. The monk held an image of the Dalai Lama, Tibetans' spiritual leader, as he embarked on his protest, the activist groups said, citing unnamed witnesses and residents of Aba.

Aba residents whom AFP reached by phone on Saturday were extremely fearful of discussing the issue but admitted police had fired shots, although they would not comment on who these were aimed at. Asked whether a monk had set himself on fire, an employee at a local hotel, who could not be named for fear of reprisal, said she had been told not to say anything by the police. But she said police had fired shots.

"It's true, but I can't say any more. My phone is monitored," she told AFP before hanging up. Other residents also confirmed the shooting, but quickly hung up for fear of being caught talking about the situation.

Some spoke of a strong police presence in the town after the incident. "There are many policemen on patrol in the street and all of them have guns," an employee at a teahouse in Aba, who could also not be named, told AFP. Local government and police would not comment on the issue.

Falun Gong Practitioner Brutally Tortured

Yanji, February 27, 2009: Mr. Shen Quanhui from Yanji City, Jilin Province was arrested for practicing Falun Gong. He told his family members during their only visit that he had been subjected to numerous tortures during his five month imprisonment. He had also become very emaciated and weak since his arrest.

Mr. Shen was arrested illegally on September 7, 2008 by policemen from Janji City. On February 10, 2009, due to the family's persistence, they were able to see Mr. Shen at the Helong Xicheng Detention Center under the watchful eyes of the guards. But when Mr. Shen began exposing the tortures to which he had been subjected, the guards forcibly took Mr. Shen away. Before the arrest Mr. Shen weighed 85 kg. However, now he has lost so much weight that he looks like a skeleton, his face is as pale as a sheet, and he is very weak.

When he was detained in Toudao Police Station, Mr. Shen was barbarically beaten by the policemen there. They kicked his head, as well as the most vulnerable parts of his body. He was almost killed there. After he was locked up in the Helong Xicheng Detention Center, the guards brutally tortured Mr. Shen, hoping to force a confession from him. The guards used extremely cruel methods of torture.

Tibetan monks and police clash in Sichuan

Sichuan, February 27, 2009: The county of Lithan in Sichuan Province has been locked down after clashes between Tibetan monks, laypeople, nomads and Chinese security forces.

On 19th February last, the Chinese government authorities ordered to the security forces in Tibet to crush any signs of support for the Dalai Lama as the 50th anniversary of an anti-Chinese uprising neared.

One of the owners of a grocery shop in Lithan said she witnessed a small protest near the county's main vegetable market on Sunday that escalated into a much larger one about lunch time on Monday. On the second day, she said she saw several hundred Tibetans gathered downtown, shouting "long live the Dalai Lama" -- the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists who lives in exile in India. In just a few minutes, she said, squads of police arrived and a melee ensued.

In India, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said 21 people were detained. It said two men were badly beaten and suffered severe injuries.

International Buddhist Conference

Yangon, February 27, 2007 (UJI Correspondent): An International Theravada Buddhist universities conference will be held at the Sitagu International Buddhists Academy in Sagaing, northwestern division of Myanmar. The Executive Secretary Venerable Khammai Dhammasa of the Association of Theravada Buddhist Universities (ATBU) told the press.

This is second biennial conference, going to be held from March 5 to 8, about 70 papers relating to engaged Buddhism, religious teachings in Theravada Buddhist countries, monasticism in Theravada countries, and Pali literature since the 19th century will be presented mainly in English and Pali languages for discussion.

According to Ven. Khammai report that 290 representatives from 30 universities and colleges from 11 countries including observers from seven other countries as well as 300 domestic monks and nuns are expected to attend in the conference. The countries expecting to participate are include Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Uganda, Jamaica, Nepal and host Myanmar.

The conference is aimed at building a network of Theravada Buddhists and intellectuals from across the world to enable cooperation in religious teachings and education and disseminate Buddhist laws to the world.

The forthcoming International Theravada Buddhist universities conference came more than four years after the World Buddhist Summit, sponsored by Myanmar for the first time, took place at the Maha Pasana Cave in Yangon in December 2004 to promote and propagate Buddhism.

Buddhism stands one of the four main historical religions of the world with over 360 million followers. Myanmar is a country with a majority of its population (about 80 percent) believing in Buddhism. It is estimated that there are over 420,000 monks and over 60,000 nuns within nine sects in Myanmar which have been unified at different levels under the leadership of the government's religious committee.

For nearly 1,000 years, the country has kept Theravada Buddhism pure and intact. Buddhist scripture learning centers and other monastic education schools were set up here long ago. There are five Theravada Buddhist universities and one institute in Myanmar -- four in Yangon, one in Mandalay and one in Sagaing.

The first conference was held in Bagan, Myanmar in which representatives of Theravada Buddhist universities and colleges from 13 countries attended. The ATBU was set up in that Conference.