Calls to Legally Define Political Prisoners Rebutted in Parliament

In Thursday’s session of the Lower House of Parliament, an Arakan National Party (ANP) lawmaker asked whether the government intends to establish legal definitions for “political prisoners” and “political offenses.”

The issue of officially defining “political prisoners” has been of long-standing concern to political activists and civil society in Burma. Previous military-backed governments—including the administration of President Thein Sein—have dismissed this category, claiming that no one was incarcerated for “political” reasons.

The ANP lawmaker Pe Than took the floor of the chamber, saying that instituting legal definitions for “political offenses” and “political prisoners” would protect political activists from being treated as criminals while in prison, and would also pave the way for reparations to be given to Burma’s many former political prisoners who suffered human rights violations while incarcerated. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)