For Immediate Release
Kuala Lumpur. March 22, 2006

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is greatly concerned with reports of the brutal killing of a former political prisoner by Burmese officials in Rangoon, Burma on 17 March 2006.

It is reported that 40-year-old Thet Naing Oo was beaten in public by Rangoon municipal officers and firefighters following an argument with these officials at a marketplace.

This incident is further evidence that violent acts against the public, especially the targeting of pro-democracy activists and members of the political opposition, are still rampantly occurring in the military-ruled country.

There have been constant allegations and reports made against Burmese officials who use brutal and excessive force to suppress the pro-democracy movement inside the country.

Burma 's military regime also continues to repress public figures such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by unfair and unjust means such as placing them on lengthy periods of house-arrest or indefinite periods of detention in prisons.

AIPMC strongly calls on the Burmese government to renounce violence against its people and to discontinue the suppression of its leaders. The junta must immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners including Suu Kyi.

We also call on the Burmese Generals to hold accountable the officials responsible for the death of Thet Naing Oo, who only three years ago was freed from a decade of imprisonment for his political beliefs.

In relation to this, AIPMC urges the ASEAN Envoy to Burma , Syed Hamid Albar, to raise issues of violence by Burmese authorities against citizens, and the pro-longed detention of elected Members of Parliament in Burma , during his forthcoming mission to the country.

Only with the discontinuation of such blatant disregard for human rights by Burma, can ASEAN be satisfied that the regime is indeed working towards democratic reforms in the country as called for by the regional bloc.

Zaid Ibrahim
AIPMC Chairperson

Media contact: Roshan Jason. +6-012-3750974