Myanmar junta frees ethnic Chin leader

Reuters - Tuesday, November 27 06:44 am
YANGON (Reuters) - Prominent Myanmar ethnic leader Pu Chin Sian Thang has been freed after his arrest last week for supporting detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's call for dialogue and national reconciliation.

The 69-year-old politician from Chin State told Reuters after his release on Monday he had been asked why 12 ethnic parties had endorsed Suu Kyi's first public remarks on November 9 since she was detained in mid-2003.

"I explained to them very frankly that we issued that statement because we agreed with what she said about the ethnic groups," he told Reuters.

Suu Kyi said she was committed to begin a dialogue with the junta and promised to "give constant and serious considerations to the interests and opinions of as broad range of political organisations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic-nationality races".

Critics have accused the regime of seeking to exploit ethnic divisions in the former Burma, home to a dizzying array of rival tribes, religions, political factions and guerrilla groups.

Official media have quoted pro-junta ethnic groups as rejecting Suu Kyi's leadership in a dialogue which has seen her meet three times with a junta go-between appointed after pro-democracy protests were crushed in September.

However, 12 ethnic parties, including Pu Chin's Zomi National Congress, strongly backed the Nobel peace laureate.

"We support her stance from the bottom of our hearts," said Pu Chin, who has been detained nine times by the military which has ruled the Southeast Asian nation since 1962.

"No politicians or governments except Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her father General Aung San have shown such consideration towards the ethnic groups," he added.

Aung San, a member of the Burman majority, negotiated the 1947 Panglong Agreement which offered considerable autonomy to the Chin, Shan and Kachin minorities for the first time.

However, he was assassinated months before independence from Britain in 1948 and the ethnic groups say the deal was never implemented.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; editing by Darren Schuettler and Roger Crabb)

My comments:

So, it seems strange to me that while Pu Chin Sian Thang was in custody by the junta he had been questioned about why 12 ethnic parties had endorsed Suu Kyi's public remarks. Shouldn't they know this by now? They have had him in custody 9 times since 1962. Didn't they ever ask him before? Also, Suu Kyi's father was fighting for the same things she is still fighting for. Haven't they figured that out yet? Doesn't look like they are aware of their own countries recent history.