LONDON (AFP) — The government condemned Tuesday jail sentences handed down in Myanmar on a group of activists arrested during anti-junta protests last year.
Junior foreign minister Bill Rammell said he was "deeply concerned to learn that the Burmese regime has sentenced fourteen members of the '1988 student group' to 65 year terms."
"Those detained have done nothing other than exercise their right to express themselves and have at all times underlined their willingness to work with others for a better Burma," he said in a statement.
"This once again underlines the need for a genuine and inclusive political process. I therefore reiterate the recent call by the Council of the European Union for the lifting of restrictions placed on political parties and the early release of those in detention, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
"There can be nothing approaching free elections until these steps are taken."
Britain, Myanmar's colonial power until 1948, intentionally refers to the country by its former name Burma, though it was changed by the junta to Myanmar in 1989.
The 23 activists, including several women, were jailed during a closed-door hearing at the notorious Insein prison on the northern outskirts of the commercial hub of Yangon, relatives and an opposition party said.
The sentences came a day after a court handed a 20-year prison term to a prominent blogger who was arrested after the 2007 demonstrations, which snowballed into the biggest challenge to junta rule in nearly two decades.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
