Myanmar Must Respect Rights And Freedoms Of Its People, Says Forum

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 (Bernama) -- Myanmar must respect fully the fundamental rights and freedoms of its people, a human rights forum said here today.

The two-day meeting of the South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum which ended today also asked the Myanmar government to give a guarantee that nobody would be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Referring to the release of opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest last Sunday, member of the forum Professor Datuk Dr Khaw Lake Tee said that she and "the people from all sectors of society should be given the opportunity to engage in fair political processes without the threat of being harmed."

Khaw, who is vice-chairman of Suhakam, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission, said the release of Suu Kyi is a partial victory in the long struggle for democracy in the country.

It could at the same time lead to the release of other political prisoners, she told reporters after the session.

The forum is a sub-regional grouping comprising Suhakam, the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand.

-- BERNAMA