Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Shan State branch of the National League for Democracy says that it will give 5,000 kyat (US $5.75) a month to the families of political prisoners from Shan State to help them visit their loved ones.
There are 25 political prisoners from Shan State, according to figure compiled by the Shan NLD branch.One prisoner, NLD candidate Kyaw Khin, who won in the 1990 election in Taunggyi Constituency No. 1, has been arrested twice. The first time, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He is now serving a second14-year prison term in Taunglaylone Prison in southern Shan State.
He was first arrested for having a video tape showing a trip of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. After serving a 10-year prison term, he was released, and then, 52 days after his release, he was arrested in February 2005 and charged under the Emergency Provisions Act.
Khin Moe Moe, the secretary of the NLD Shan State branch, told Mizzima many families had financial problems.
‘If other states and regions know about our program and they follow our idea, the worries of some families will be eased a little’, he said. ‘Some prisoners are detained very far from their homes and travel costs are expensive.
‘If the new government offers amnesty to all political prisoners, people will love the government. They should offer it as soon as possible to remove the people’s hatred of the authorities’, Khin Moe Moe said.
Currently, the Shan NLD branch has been supporting the families of Kyaw Khin (Taunglaylone Prison); Tun Nyo (Buthidaung Prison),; Nyi Nyi Moe (Myinchan Prison); Sai Myo Win Tun (Pakokku Prison); and Aung Zaw Oo (Lashio Prison).
The program was adopted on March 17 after a meeting involving NLD and Shan State NLD leaders.
Similarly, NLD headquarters in Rangoon donates 5,000 kyat a month to more than 600 political prisoners across the country.
In Burma, there are a total of 2,076 political prisoners including 324 ethnic members, according to figures compiled this month by a Thai-based organisation, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).
