More than 5,600 prisoners to be released by Myanmar junta

Published

3 years ago

October 18, 2021

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More than 5,600 prisoners in Myanmar will be released by the military junta which seized power earlier this year.

Videos and pictures from the country showed tearful reunions as those who had been detained were reunited with their loved ones.

An announcement on state television said the move was part of an amnesty for those who protested against the coup earlier this year, in which the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was deposed.

However, observers say the move was due to pressure put on the dictatorship by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Footage from Insein Prison, Yangon – formerly known as Rangoon – showed the tearful scenes.

Bus-loads of people were taken outside the gates of the compound to waiting crowds, after the release was announced by state television.

It added that 1,316 convicts were freed and charges against 4,320 people were suspended.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners says that at least 9,043 people have been arrested since the coup, and 7,355 remained in detention when the amnesty was announced.

Ms Suu Kyi is still being held in detention.

After her government was toppled, there were extensive demonstrations in Myanmar against the new regime.

Estimates place the death toll in the wake of the takeover at around 1,000 – a figure the junta says is exaggerated.

ASEAN recently snubbed the junta by inviting a non-political representative from the country to the upcoming summit of the organisation, as opposed to a member of the government.

Analysis by Siobhan Robbins, south east Asia correspondent

Desperately waiting after months without news, the raw emotion on display shows you what today’s prisoner releases mean to families finally able to hug their loved ones.

Some simply disappeared without a word as relatives hunted for scraps of information to confirm if they were dead or alive.

While people across Myanmar celebrated the freedom of their fellow citizens, on social media many rejected any suggestion that they should be thankful to the military for its mercy.

Afterall, they argued, these peaceful protestors wouldn’t be in jail if the junta hadn’t seized power in February.

While this isn’t the first prisoner release since the coup, this does appear to be the largest amnesty for those directly involved in demonstrations against the military government.

The timing isn’t a coincidence. It comes just days after the junta leader was excluded from attending a summit by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The unprecedented rebuke follows the ASEAN special envoy cancelling a much delayed trip to the country after he was denied access to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others as he had requested.

This amnesty is a gesture by the junta to its neighbours paying lip service to a request to release all political prisoners at a time when it has done little to fulfil all of the five demands agreed by ASEAN in April.

For opponents this is just empty political power play.

There’s no sign high value prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi are about to be freed and in recent weeks armed conflict has been escalating.

Instead, today’s announcement was nothing more than “a form of distraction for foreign governments” according to monitoring group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

In a country used to decades of military rule, political parlour tricks no longer work.

ASEAN laid out a five-point roadmap for Myanmar to follow, but made the decision to shun the current administration after they failed to commit to the plan.

In response, Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup in February, reiterated the junta’s own five-stage plan to restore democracy.

World

Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

Published

1 hour ago

November 25, 2024

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

World

Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

Published

4 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

World

Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

Published

18 hours ago

November 24, 2024

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.