Democracy politician jailed …ASEAN pandemic panic”democracy”

AP/ 14 Juky 2009

Yangon (Myanmar) – An 87 year old  member of Myanmar’s pro-democracy party has been sentenced by the military regime to a two-year prison term for alleged defamation, a party member said Tuesday.

Kyaw Khaing – a member of the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, who faces a five-year prison term herself if found guilty in an ongoing trial – was sentenced Monday by a court in Tauggok in northwestern Rakhine State, said Thein Hlaing, a senior party member there.

Kyaw Khaing was sued by an expelled party member after comments made over fundraising for the party.

‘The court decision was biased and unfair. This is a severe and unjustified punishment because Kyaw Khaing is an opposition party member and an elected party candidate,’ said Aung Thein, a lawyer whose license was revoked in May, a day before he applied to represent Suu Kyi at her trial.

Kyaw Khaing was elected to office when his party won a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections, the results of which have never been recognized by the government.

He was given a seven-year prison sentence in 2007 following an pro-democracy uprising led by Buddhist monks, but was released 12 days later.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is widely accused of human rights violations.

Western human rights groups say the regime holds more than 2,000 political prisoners.

Suu Kyi is facing a separate trial in which she has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who entered her residence.