The UN applauds the releases in Burma and calls for the release of “thousands more who are still detained”

6 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations applauded this Friday the release of more than 7,000 prisoners in Burma on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence and has called on the junta to release “thousands more who are still detained for opposing the military regime.”

“The release of political prisoners in Burma is not only a relief for those unjustly detained, but also for their families,” said Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who added that “there are people who continues to be detained for opposing the military regime, many of whom have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.”

Thus, he has stated that “these arrests not only seek to silence critics of the junta, but are designed to instill fear”, while reiterating his call for an end to arbitrary arrests “once and for all”. Worldwide.

Laurence stressed that, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN has asked all governments to “guarantee an amnesty, pardon or simple release of all those detained for exercising their rights”. “The way out of the Burma crisis is not to lock people up, but to allow them to participate in political life freely, fully and effectively,” she stressed.

The junta has been in charge of Burma since the February 2021 coup, perpetrated by the Army to annul the results of the November 2020 general elections, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) took control of the parliamentary majority.

The coup was followed by a harsh campaign of repression against opponents, activists and demonstrators that to date has resulted in nearly 2,700 deaths and some 17,000 detainees –including more than 13,200 who remain in custody–, according to data published by the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP) through its Twitter account.

The initial protests against the coup d’état have led to the formation of armed resistance groups and the reinforcement of the ethnic militias already present in the country before the coup, which has led to an upsurge in fighting in various parts of the country. , especially in the north.