Burma’s ruling junta announced this Thursday, November 17, that it would release 700 prisoners, including a former British diplomat, a Japanese journalist and an Australian adviser to the ousted government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Former British Ambassador Vicky Bowman, Australian Economic Adviser Sean Turnell, who “okaccording to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese journalist Toru Kubota “It will be released on the occasion of the national holiday”a senior officer told AFP. They will be “evicted”, the junta said. All three left the country at around 17:30 local time (12:00 Paris time) after taking a commercial flight. They landed in Bangkok, Thailand.
Burmese political prisoners
Vicki Bowman, who served from 2002 to 2006, and her husband, Burmese artist Htain Lin, a former political prisoner, were both arrested in August for violating immigration laws and sentenced to a year in prison. The British government has said it welcomes the release of its former diplomacy. Like his wife, Htein Lin has been released, AFP has learned.
Australian economics professor Sean Turnell was working as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi when she was arrested days after the February 2021 military coup. He was sentenced to three years in prison in September for breaching the Official Secrets Act.
Toru Kubota, 26, who was arrested in July as part of an anti-junta demonstration in Rangoon, was sentenced to ten years in prison. The fourth foreigner is a Burmese national with a US passport, according to an official source.
Families gathered in front of Yangon’s Insein Prison, before the expected release announcement, described an AFP reporter present at the scene.
Anthony Blinken still sees a “bleak” future in Burma
For his part, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed Thursday’s release of nearly 6,000 prisoners by the Burmese junta, including three foreigners, but warned that the future remains.darkin the country.
“It’s a bright spot, what remains in an incredibly dark time.“The American official announced before the summit of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) countries in Bangkok.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.