Fresh calls to release political prisoners in Myanmar

YANGON: Two separate appeals were launched for the release of political prisoners in Myanmar - for some pro-democracy demonstrators held for almost two weeks and for an elderly journalist entering his 20th year in detention. The National League for Democracy party of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for the release of 13 party members and a Buddhist monk they said were illegally arrested on June 19 in front of party headquarters in Yangon. They were beaten by pro-government forces and detained after shouting slogans calling for Suu Kyi's release at a ceremony marking her 63rd birthday, the party said Reporters Without Borders meanwhile called for the immediate release from prison of journalist Win Tin, 78, whose health is said to have deteriorated badly in the past few days. The UN has called him the... [read full story]