Burmese dictatorship targets students

By Jon Land

The military dictatorship in Burma announced on April 29 that it had sentenced six student activists to death. A statement released by the ruling State Peace and Development Council claimed that the six, four of whom are members of the All Burma Student Democratic Front, were planning sabotage and “terrorist” activities.

A further 33 ABSDF activists were sentenced to between seven and 14 years imprisonment. Earlier in April, two other student activists were sentenced to death for attempting to deliver a letter detailing human rights abuses to a visiting UN special envoy.

The ABSDF stated in a media release on April 27 that prominent student leader Aung Tun had been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for writing a seven-volume history of the Burmese student movement. Aung Tun is a central executive committee member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions. He was released in 1994 after serving a five-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 1988 uprising.

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