20 Kachin political prisoners remain in Myitkyina prison

No. 1 police station in Myitkyina.

More than 20 Kachin civilians jailed for their alleged ties to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) remain behind bars, according to lawyers in Myitkyina, the Kachin state capital. Most of those jailed were charged for violating Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act. On July 23, thirteen such detainees were released including IDP Lahtaw Brang Shawng as part of a presidential amnesty.


Duwa Ma Hka, a prominent Myitkyina based lawyer who represented the recently released political prisoner Brang Shawng and many others, told the Kachin News Group that he remains very concerned about the safety of the prisoners.

“Most of the people who have been arrested under Act 17/1 are clearly innocent. Lahtaw Brang Shawng was interrogated, tortured and then convicted despite not having committed a crime”, said Ma Hka.

On July 23, President Thein Sein's chief negotiator Aung Min made good on promise he made in May to get Brang Shawng released from prison and return him to the IDP camp where his family was living.

At present the same Myitkyina court that convicted Brang Shawng is hearing the cases of eight other men alleged to have ties with the KIO. Two of those on trial Lahpai Gam and Brang Yung come from an IDP camp located at the Shwezet Kachin Baptist Church, according to the Kachin Legal Aid Network which is assisting their defense.

Last year Daw Doi Bu (also Dwe Bu), a lawyer serving as an MP representing Kachin state's N’Jang Yang township submitted a bill to parliament that would repeal article 17/1 which she says unfairly targets Burma's ethnic minorities.

“If the government wants peace with ethnic minorities the unfair law should be removed first. Other factors will then improve”, the law maker told the Kachin News Group.
Although Doi Bu insists she will press on with her bill which also removes restrictions on public gatherings and protests, it is unlikely that it will pass.

Following the end of the KIO's 17-year ceasefire with the central government in June 2011, Burmese authorities once again began arresting Kachin people for having alleged ties with the KIO. The arrests have continued despite repeated assurances from Aung Min that would not.

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