Washington, DC – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today released the following statement regarding the Burmese government’s decision to free political prisoners:
“Burma’s President has taken a positive step by releasing hundreds of prisoners who were simply championing democracy. As the country’s new human rights commission recently said, jailing innocent people for speaking out against their government is wrong. While the current government was borne of flawed elections, we should allow its concrete actions to shape our judgment. President U Thein Sein’s move is the most recent sign that he and his advisers seem to be distancing themselves from the failed policies of the past. In the coming days, we will be watching closely to see how the released political prisoners are treated, and whether or not this development was an isolated decision or a broader movement that includes the release of all prisoners detained on political charges.”
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