The members of the '88 Generation Student Group are some of the bravest men and women you're never likely meet. They take their name from Burma's failed democracy uprising in 1988, an uprising that was brutally put down by the regime with the loss of up to 6,000 lives. In the aftermath, many of them - including one of the leaders Min Ko Naing (pictured in 2007), whose name means "conqueror of kings" - were sentenced to long terms inside Rangoon's Insein Jail (Min Ko Naing was released in 2004).
Far from sating their appetite to challenge the authorities, their time in jail may have even hardened their determination to bring about change in their country.
It was members of this group that in the summer of 2007 began a series of small democracy protests in Rangoon, complaining about soaring fuel and food costs and a lack of reform, before the monks and ordinary people took to the streets. Were they the inspiration for the monks and others to get involved? Who can say for sure; what is certain that people were aware of their sacrifice.
If the Burmese regime gets its way, the members of the 88 Students Generation Group will never see the light of day again. Facing trial on a variety of charges that carry punishment of over 150 years imprisonment, it now emerges that the authorities have convicted them of contempt of court as well.
The update comes from the usually very reliable US Campaign for Burma which reports that this week, Min Ko Naing and other members of the group stood up in court and complained about the their lack of access to lawyers and family members. The judge said they were disturbing proceedings, charged them with the Section 188 of the Penal Code and delivered six-month imprisonment each for nine student leaders, Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Mya Aye, Min Zeya, Pyone Choe (aka) Htay Win Aung, Aung Thu, Hla Myo Naung, and Aung Naing. Apparently the rest of defendants then stood up and demanded the judge to sentence them too. Then, the judge ordered security forces to remove all the defendants from the court and adjourned the trial.
It would farcical were this not real. But it is. This is going on now, in Burma, in secret trials held in one of the world's most notorious jails.
There's an update today from the Burma Campaign UK which reveals that the nine prisoners have now been moved to a different jail, Ma Ahu Pin, which is located about five hours from Rangoon, making it harder for the families to visit the prisoners. Wai Hnin, the organisation's political prisoners campaigner and daughter of Mya Aye, one of those who has been moved this morning, said: "This is another example of how the regime is trying to break the spirit of anyone who tries to resist their rule. My father and the other defendants have committed no crime. They just want freedom for their people. The United Nations Security Council and European Union warned the regime not to detain democracy activists. The regime ignored them. Why aren’t the Security Council or EU taking any action."
Posted by: Andrew Buncombe | Friday, 31 October 2008 at 09:34 AM