Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Burmese counterpart on (a) releasing people detained for the exercise of their human rights and (b) dropping charges pending against those who are facing imprisonment simply for the exercise of these rights.

Mr Hugo Swire

The release of some 200 political prisoners during its first few weeks in office is a strong demonstration of the new Burmese Government’s commitment to reforming human rights and the rule of law in Burma. However, we remain concerned that arrests, detentions and sentencing of political activists could continue while the military retains control of the Home Ministry, Police and Courts.

Tackling the causes of political prisoners will require a thorough but longer-term process of legislative and judicial reform. Having an effective Political Prisoners Committee will be an important element of that process and is something we have consistently called for and will continue to do.

The Government has long campaigned on the issue of political prisoners in Burma. We have maintained pressure through bilateral and international actions such as the two annual UN resolutions on Burma in which we have played an instrumental part. I raised this issue directly with the then Minister for the Presidency, U Aung Min, during my visit to Burma in July 2015. We will work with the new Government to help it continue to make progress.