US embassy cable - 03RANGOON539

UNCLAS RANGOON 000539 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, BM, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: REGIME RELEASES SALAI TUN THAN, 20 OTHER POLITICAL 
PRISONERS 
 
1. (U)  In a May 4 press release, the State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC) announced the release of 21 
political prisoners.  Dr. Salai Tun Than, a well-respected 
academic who was arrested for staging a one-man political 
demonstration in 2001 was among those released.  Salai Tun 
Than is an alumni of the University of Georgia and, as a 
result, has been of particular Congressional and Embassy 
interest since his arrest.  In fact, COM Martinez raised 
Salai Tun Than's case directly with the third-ranking general 
in the regime, Secretary One General Khin Nyunt, in a meeting 
on April 27.  This appears to be what triggered his release. 
Poloff met with Salai Tun Than and two of his daughters 
(including Yuzana, with whom Poloff has met previously) on 
May 5 and found him tired but well and extremely happy to be 
out of prison.  Salai Tun Than said authorities made a 
special point of telling him that his release was not the 
result of any external pressure.  He told Poloff, however, 
that in his opinion prisoner releases would only occur as a 
direct result of pressure. 
 
2. (U)  The professor also reported that he had been required 
to sign a "Section 401" agreement, which obligated him to 
serve the remaining balance of his sentence if he is taken 
into custody again.  He said he was a little nervous about 
how the authorities might react to a  meeting with Poloff but 
he was taking the chance because he has had contacts with the 
Embassy in the past.  He said he plans to return to his 
earlier activities as much as possible (advocating 
agricultural reforms for Chin farmers), hoping that if he is 
"transparent" in his activities, authorities will have no 
grounds to rearrest him. 
 
3. (U)  Regarding his recent hunger strike, Dr. Tun Than said 
prison authorities quickly acceded to most of his demands (no 
hoods on political prisoners, permission to possess a Bible, 
a clock in the ward of political prisoners at the prison 
hospital) so he called off the strike after just two days. 
He said just prior to the hunger strike on April 27, prison 
authorities had begun questioning him about the activities he 
might undertake if he were released.  The professor now 
realizes that authorities were already considering whether to 
release him at that time.  He said he told the authorities he 
planned to thank the NLD's Aung San Suu Kyi for her party's 
support for his family during his incarceration.  The 
authorities told him this was not a wise thing and he said he 
agreed that he would not do it if he were a "normal" citizen, 
but he had a special situation and would want to pay his 
respects.  He said the authorities finally relented when he 
invited them along to visit the NLD, but cautioned him to not 
discuss politics. 
 
 
4. (U)  Among the other political prisoners released, there 
were 12 NLD members, including two who are well-known in the 
organization.  Win Thein was a young student who provided 
security for Aung San Suu Kyi in the early days of the party. 
 He was arrested in 1989 and is now 36 years old.  Ms. Kyi 
Kyi Win is an NLD member from a Rangoon suburb who has been 
jailed since 1998 because of activism on behalf of the party 
in all parts of the country.  NLD Vice Chairman U Tin Oo told 
Poloff, "she used to give Military Intelligence fits!"  The 
NLD was pleased to have the releases but noted that there are 
many more cases of old, and infirm political prisoners, many 
of whom have been in prison well past their original 
sentences. 
Martinez