Maesot, Thailand, July 22, 2008

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP) welcomes the
“Declaration on Prisoners of Conscience”, co-sponsored by 64 countries - including the
United States of America, 27 members of European Union and 36 other countries - and
submitted to the United Nations General Assembly to circulate among all member nations.

With this declaration, all 64 nations commit “to work for the freedom of prisoners of
conscience and to make their release a key priority in their relations with other states”.1 They also “further agree to encourage the States Members of the United Nations to affirm their commitment embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all citizens may freely express their opinions and assemble peacefully without fear of reprisal.”

AAPP stands in solidarity with the many other organizations and pro-democracy activists
around the world who are working for freedom, democracy and the release of prisoners of conscience. AAPP wholeheartedly welcomes the commitment of these 64 nations and
encourages all other nations - especially the Burmese military regime which is holding over 2,000 political prisoners - to reaffirm their commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to adopt the Declaration on Prisoners of Conscience. Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the leader of Burma’s democracy movement, said in 2002 that “until all of our political prisoners are free, none of us can say that Burma is now truly on the road towards democratic change.”

In support of the event commemorating the Declaration on Prisoners of Conscience at the United Nations on July 24, 2008, organized by the United States Mission to the United Nations and the United States Department of State and where AAPP representative Aung Din will speak on behalf of prisoners of conscience in Burma, AAPP today releases a report on the current situation of Burma’s political prisoners. Over 2,000 political prisoners - imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their political beliefs - are currently held in conditions which contravene the UN’s standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.

They are held in cramped unsanitary conditions, given inadequate food rations, denied basic medical care, and subjected to torture.

“Without the release of all political prisoners, a peaceful transition to democracy in Burma cannot happen,” said Bo Kyi, a former political prisoner and Joint-Secretary of AAPP.

“They are elected MPs, students, monks, ethnic nationality leaders – people who represent the future of democracy in our country.  Once they are released, they must be allowed to carry out their work without fear of arrest or reprisals,” continues Bo Kyi.

On 18 July 2008, Ko Khin Maung Tint became the 137th political prisoner to die in Burma’s prisons since 1988.  He was suffering from tuberculosis.  He was arrested in 1998 for his pro- democracy activities, and sentenced to 20 years for sedition under Article 124 of Burma’s Penal Code.

“Too many have already died in prison, due to torture, ill treatment, and being denied medical care.  The UN must do everything in its power to secure the immediate release of all Burma’s political prisoners. We cannot allow them to meet the same fate,” said Bo Kyi.

Following last September’s Saffron Revolution, 196 monks are still detained.  All have been forcibly stripped of their robes and many have been tortured.  In the run-up to the May constitutional referendum, the regime arrested more than 100 people for advocating a “No” vote.  At least 70 remain in detention.  After Cyclone Nargis struck on 2/3 May, ordinary Burmese people came together to deliver aid to the victims. Many of them were harassed and approximately 20 were arrested.  To date, the authorities have not informed their families  where they are being held.

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About AAPP:
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners - AAPP is dedicated to aid former
Burmese  political prisoners and their families in their struggle for survival and to record the present situation of all political prisoners; to collect evidence and names of the individuals who have committed human rights violations and crimes against humanity during the years of the dictatorship. For further information about human right violations in Burma please visit our web site at www.aappb.org