Outspoken Burmese AIDS Activist Freed
By Joseph Popiolkowski
Hong Kong
03 July 2007
http://voanews.com/english/2007-07-03-voa12.cfm

A Burmese AIDS activist detained since May for advocating the release
of the country's top political prisoner has been freed. As Joseph
Popiolkowski reports from VOA's Asia News Center in Hong Kong, the
release follows a scathing report on Burma's human rights abuses from
one of the world's best known humanitarian organizations.

Phyu Phyu Thin speaks to the media at the headquarter of National
League for Democracy in Rangoon, 03 Jul 2007 Phyu Phyu Thin's release
Tuesday comes six weeks after her arrest for attending prayer
services aimed at gaining freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's
democracy leader.

Phyu Phyu Thin runs a small AIDS clinic that distributes
antiretroviral medication to patients. She has been vocal about the
plight of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace laureate detained by
Burma's military government since 1990.

Debbie Stothard is coordinator of the Alternative ASEAN Network on
Burma, a regional human rights group, and believes that outside
pressure made a difference.

"Many local activists in Burma spoke up against her detention," said
Stothard. "It did put a lot of pressure on the military authorities
to release her. Internationally the human rights community also spoke
up for her release."

"And the U.S. government, as well, spoke up and made interventions.
We still need to keep up the pressure to ensure that Phyu Phyu Thin
does not get arrested again, but also to secure the release of Phyu
Phyu Thin's friends and colleagues who were arrested along with her,"
she added.

Last week, the International Committee of the Red Cross publicly
condemned Burma's military government. It said the government was
guilty of killing unarmed civilians and forcing prisoners to work as
army porters, among other abuses. The ICRC rarely condemns
governments publicly, preferring to relay its concerns through
private channels.

Stothard says a series of prayer vigils was mounted to bring
awareness to Aung San Suu Kyi's incarceration. She says 30 activists
remain in police custody from the most recent crackdown while Burma
has more than 1,000 other political prisoners locked up.

"Phyu Phyu Thin is one of the people who was detained this year
simply for having prayed for Aung San Suu Kyi's release. Apparently
it's a state crime if you pray for the release of political
prisoners," she said.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, led the National League for Democracy to a
landslide election victory in 1990 but the military regime in Burma,
also known as Myanmar, has refused to honor the results or convene
parliament.