Michael D Higgins TD

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Burmese Junta seeking to close off its people from outside contact

Issued : Friday 8 January, 2010

Michael D Higgins, Labour Party President and Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, has condemned the twenty year jail sentence which a court acting on behalf of the ruling junta in Burma has imposed on Hla Hla Win, a video journalist who had worked with exiled media, notably the Democratic Voice of Burma which is based in Oslo.

Deputy Higgins said ”This ruling is yet another example of Burma/Myanmar’s flagrant disregard for basic human rights. Ms Win was arrested in October of last year before being sentenced on New Year’s Eve.

“Her treatment is utterly outrageous but sadly just the latest abhorrent action by an entirely discredited regime, a regime, of course, which has held Aug San Suu Kyi under house arrest for fourteen of the last twenty years. It makes a mockery of claims that this year’s scheduled elections in the country would be open and democratic.

“Reporters without Borders has claimed that there are currently 13 journalists and bloggers detained in Burma which in itself is a serious indictment. It is crucial now that the international community stand as one against this latest example of the violations commonplace in Burma. The European Union and the United Nations have imposed tight sanctions on the authorities and these, naturally, must remain in place.

“Furthermore I would encourage groups such as The International Committee of Jurists to take an active role in seeking to investigate this and other, similar, abuses in the country, and it is my hope that other NGOs such as Frontline, Amnesty International and others will seek a similar course of action. Labour will be happy to join with them in any action they take.

“I urge the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate as a matter of extreme urgency. It is unacceptable that the wider world stand by and allow such actions to take place with impunity.”