Six Burmese political inmates in Rangoon’s infamous Insein prison are on hunger strike
Six on hunger strike in Insein prison
Feb 23, 2010 (DVB)–Six Burmese political inmates in Rangoon’s infamous Insein prison are on hunger strike after complaining that authorities there are refusing to provide for “basic human requirements”.
Inmates in Insein prison, where the majority of Burma’s 2,100 political prisoners are held, have long complained of dire conditions, with up to four prisoners often crammed into tight cells and denied medical treatment.
The panopticon prison, built by the British during the colonial era, last year became the focus of international attention after Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained there during her closed court trial.
The six, who include opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party members Nyi Pu, Kyaw Myo Naing, Nyi Nyi Aung and Nay Moe Aung, as well as Aung Naing Myint and Aung Naing, who are in jail for their links to the banned All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress (AASYC), have said they began the strike yesterday and will continue to refuse food until 25 February. A number suspected of leading the strike have now been placed in solitary confinement, the source said, after calling for greater medical assistance, better quality food and permission to read and write.
Their demands, first made on 17 February, coincided with a visit to Burma by UN special rapporteur for human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana. He was however denied a meeting with any political prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
It also coincides with reports that 71 inmates in the remote Buthidaung prison in Burma’s western Arakan state are on hunger strike in protest at the insufficient amounts of food given to prisoners.
The 71 are all non-Burmese, mainly Bangladeshi, who were also denied a meeting with Quintana when he visited Buthidaung last week, according to the Dhaka-based Narinjara news agency.
Reporting by Yee May Aung
