WASHINGTON and RANGOON - Days after U.S. President George W. Bush showered praise on Burma's democracy movement, the Free Burma Coalition has received news that one of the country's most prominent political prisoners, Dr. Salai Tun Than, a 75-year-old professor, has launched a hunger strike to protest violations of fundamental human and religious rights in the Southeast Asian country's notorious prison system. (To see photos of Dr. Tun Than, click here.)

His protest also comes three weeks after U.S. Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Representative Max Burns (R-GA) publicly condemned Dr. Tun Than's imprisonment and the ongoing human rights violations by Burma's ruling military regime on the floor of the United States Congress.

Burma's military regime, led by Senior General Than Shwe, imprisoned Dr. Tun Than in November 2001 after he conducted a solo protest in front of Rangoon City Hall and called for an end to military rule and the restoration of democracy. During his protest, he donned an academic gown and distributed a letter that read, among other things, "It is better to die than to live under the military regime." The regime sentenced him to seven years in prison.

Among the violations Dr. Salai Tun Than is protesting, according to reliable sources inside Burma, are the continued imprisonment of 1,400 political prisoners even after many have completed their sentences, interrogations of prisoners following visits by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Paulo Sergio Pinheiro and the International Committee of the Red Cross, restrictions on communication between prisoners, unsanitary prison conditions, inadequate medical supplies and treatment, and forced "hooding" as prisoners are transported outside. He is also protesting restrictions on his religious freedom as a Christian, including the regime's refusal to allow him a Bible or to receive communion. Dr. Tun Than suffers from severe ill health including eye problems, bone disease, and other ailments.

According to former political prisoner Aung Din, who is now Director of Policy for the Free Burma Coalition in Washington, D.C., Dr. Tun Than's protest may place him in danger of beatings, torture, and even death, "In the past, guards have placed hunger-strikers in solitary confinement where they were beaten, tortured, and shackled, and some even beaten to death. I am very worried that Dr. Salai Tun Than may face such punishment or even be killed. At a minimum, he may be relocated to a prison far from his family."

On May 13, 1998, for example, another of Burma's political prisoners, Aung Kyaw Moe, was beaten to death by prison superintendent Win Myint and his troops in Tharyarwaddy prison for staging a hunger strike. Approximately 189 of Burma's 1,400 political prisoners face serious health problems, and many have died in recent years.

Dr. Salai Tun Than is a Baptist Christian and an alumnus of both the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Georgia.

On April 24th, President Bush released a statement calling the leader of Burma's democracy movement, 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi, "an example for those around the world who strive for freedom and the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." The message also read, "The United States continues to recognize the results of the 1990 elections and supports her goals to restore democracy and national reconciliation through effective political dialogue with the ruling military regime."

On April 8th, Senator Feingold demanded the release of Tun Than and harshly criticized Burma's regime, stating "I am. concerned about the case of Dr. Salai Tun Than, an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison." The following day, Congressman Burns called the imprisonment "unlawful" and said, "We must work to stop this regime from imprisoning political dissidents and work toward a freer nation for all Burmese citizens."

In a major policy address in February, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner said that if Than Shwe's military regime refuses to enter into a constructive dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese people under the auspices of the United Nations, the United States would consider imposing new economic and political sanctions against the regime. The Dallas Morning News reported on April 6th that the powerful Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell might introduce legislation aimed at penalizing Than Shwe's ongoing rights abuses in the near future. ##

http://www.freeburmacoalition.org

8:38:04 PM    pray []

Today's Prayer Request from Pray For China

In Xinjiang, lots of rains have caused landslides, which have covered four herdsmen families. Let us pray for the victims. May the Lord comfort them. Let us also pray for the churches in the northwest Chinese area. May God lead shepherds to pastor His flock.

8:13:21 PM    pray []