Naw Say Phaw Waa20 July 2013 Issue No:281
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has taken up the case of
former political prisoners released under presidential amnesties in 2011
and 2012, who have still not been able to secure government permission
to resume university studies. A number of political prisoners were
students at the time they were jailed.
Suu Kyi told a group of released political prisoners, who have been lobbying for the right to continue their studies where they had left off, that she would bring the case before parliament and the Ministry of Education.
She met them at the margins of a high-level conference on higher education attended by ministers, parliamentarians and foreign education bodies and held on 29-30 June in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw.
Some 15 students from Yangon have not been able to study since they were released under President Thein Sein’s amnesties. Most of them were detained during and after the 2007 ‘Saffron Revolution’ – a pro-democracy uprising led by saffron-robed monks.
According to university authorities, if students are away from university for more than four years they will be excluded. For former political prisoners, the only option is to begin their degrees again via distance learning.
But all the students had already completed one or more years of university education. Some were already in their final year at the time of detention. The next university year will start in December 2013 and all of the students are hoping to get permission to study.
Si Thu Maung, a member of the Yangon Institute of Economics student union and one of eight former political prisoners who met with the pro-democracy leader, told University World News that Suu Kyi said she thought all of the students had already been able to attend university.
“She feels sorry that it hasn’t happened until now and said it shouldn’t be like this. She also said education is for all, and as the government is reforming the country, they shouldn’t put a constraint on students to study,” he said.
She promised to bring up the issue in the Hluttaw (parliament) – although no timetable had been set.
Ministry of Education officials had told local media that the rules barring students from attending university after a long break were not just for political prisoners but for all students, and were designed to prevent truancy.
Dragging on
The problem has dragged on for at least 18 months, and most of the students affected have been unable to find a job.
“Around 15 students from Yangon including myself, who were released under the amnesty on 13 January 2012, met with professors from different universities in February 2012 to discuss attending university again,” De Nyein Lin, chair of the organising committee of the Federation of Students’ Unions, told University World News.
“However, the professors told us to apply higher up because they couldn’t help us with this problem until permission had come from their superiors.”
On 9 February 2012, eight former political prisoners met Suu Kyi at the National League for Democracy’s head office in Yangon, said Yae Myat Hein, deputy head of the organising committee of the Federation of Students' Unions.
Suu Kyi’s response then had also been that their education should not be restricted, as the students had already been punished by being in jail.
The students sent letters to members of the Hluttaw, political parties, the president’s office and other organisations last year. At the end of May 2012, representatives from various universities called a meeting at West Yangon University with the former detainees and their parents.
“They said they called the meeting because they received letters from the president to meet with students. Then we signed [an agreement] to attend the university punctually, obey the university rules and not disturb the stability of the state,” De Nyein Lin said.
“However there has been no response since then. Whenever we go and ask, they say there has been no order from their superiors yet.”
Three students met with U Aung Min and U Soe Thein, both ministers in the president’s office, on 2 July. The ministers urged the students to send them detailed letters “so they can help the students to study again”, said De Nyein Lin.
Yae Myat Hein said he was hopeful this time as they had not only been able to speak to Suu Kyi but also ministers who are close to the president. He said the students hoped to be allowed back for the 2013-14 academic year.
A ninth amnesty was granted on 17 May this year, just before President Thein Sein’s visit to the US in May. Other amnesties were granted before the president attended the United Nations General Assembly, before the American president visited Myanmar, and before the ASEAN Summit and other high-level visits.
Suu Kyi told a group of released political prisoners, who have been lobbying for the right to continue their studies where they had left off, that she would bring the case before parliament and the Ministry of Education.
She met them at the margins of a high-level conference on higher education attended by ministers, parliamentarians and foreign education bodies and held on 29-30 June in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw.
Some 15 students from Yangon have not been able to study since they were released under President Thein Sein’s amnesties. Most of them were detained during and after the 2007 ‘Saffron Revolution’ – a pro-democracy uprising led by saffron-robed monks.
According to university authorities, if students are away from university for more than four years they will be excluded. For former political prisoners, the only option is to begin their degrees again via distance learning.
But all the students had already completed one or more years of university education. Some were already in their final year at the time of detention. The next university year will start in December 2013 and all of the students are hoping to get permission to study.
Si Thu Maung, a member of the Yangon Institute of Economics student union and one of eight former political prisoners who met with the pro-democracy leader, told University World News that Suu Kyi said she thought all of the students had already been able to attend university.
“She feels sorry that it hasn’t happened until now and said it shouldn’t be like this. She also said education is for all, and as the government is reforming the country, they shouldn’t put a constraint on students to study,” he said.
She promised to bring up the issue in the Hluttaw (parliament) – although no timetable had been set.
Ministry of Education officials had told local media that the rules barring students from attending university after a long break were not just for political prisoners but for all students, and were designed to prevent truancy.
Dragging on
The problem has dragged on for at least 18 months, and most of the students affected have been unable to find a job.
“Around 15 students from Yangon including myself, who were released under the amnesty on 13 January 2012, met with professors from different universities in February 2012 to discuss attending university again,” De Nyein Lin, chair of the organising committee of the Federation of Students’ Unions, told University World News.
“However, the professors told us to apply higher up because they couldn’t help us with this problem until permission had come from their superiors.”
On 9 February 2012, eight former political prisoners met Suu Kyi at the National League for Democracy’s head office in Yangon, said Yae Myat Hein, deputy head of the organising committee of the Federation of Students' Unions.
Suu Kyi’s response then had also been that their education should not be restricted, as the students had already been punished by being in jail.
The students sent letters to members of the Hluttaw, political parties, the president’s office and other organisations last year. At the end of May 2012, representatives from various universities called a meeting at West Yangon University with the former detainees and their parents.
“They said they called the meeting because they received letters from the president to meet with students. Then we signed [an agreement] to attend the university punctually, obey the university rules and not disturb the stability of the state,” De Nyein Lin said.
“However there has been no response since then. Whenever we go and ask, they say there has been no order from their superiors yet.”
Three students met with U Aung Min and U Soe Thein, both ministers in the president’s office, on 2 July. The ministers urged the students to send them detailed letters “so they can help the students to study again”, said De Nyein Lin.
Yae Myat Hein said he was hopeful this time as they had not only been able to speak to Suu Kyi but also ministers who are close to the president. He said the students hoped to be allowed back for the 2013-14 academic year.
A ninth amnesty was granted on 17 May this year, just before President Thein Sein’s visit to the US in May. Other amnesties were granted before the president attended the United Nations General Assembly, before the American president visited Myanmar, and before the ASEAN Summit and other high-level visits.
