Burma-Quintana urges release of prisioners for upcoming eletion

The Burmese government has yet to release all of its political prisoners as promised. Last month Burmese military rulers released over 6,300 prisoners, but only 29 of those were political prisoners. United Nations human rights investigator, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is urging the Burmese government to release the political prisioners before the upcoming election in 2010 to "ensure the election and its aftermath comply with international standards of a democratic society." Along with releasing the prisoners, Quintana is insisting on immediate health care given to the prisoners. A reliable source also informed Quintana that these political prisoners did not receive a fair trial for their so-called crimes against them and that their lawyers were thrown in contempt of court. Hopefully in the coming weeks, a substanial number of prisoners will be released. It seems as though the Burmese government is releasing political prisoners little by little just to show that they are making SOME progress, which in reality is very little progress. "The most prominent of the remaining 2,100 political prisoners is opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years."