Burma frees opposition members

Diplomats say Burma's military leaders are trying to clean up their image

The military government in Burma says it has released six elderly prisoners from jail following a request made by the United Nations special envoy, Razali Ismail, during his visit last week.

The six, aged between 55 and 77, had been imprisoned for threatening state security - all except one are members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) which has been kept in opposition, despite winning an overwhelming election victory in 1990.

The move follows the announcement that the jailed British pro-democracy activist, James Mawdsley, will be freed after serving more than a year of a 17-year sentence.

He is expected to be released on Friday, after which the Burmese authorities say he will be deported to the UK.

Among the six Burmese prisoners released is leading barrister Chein Poe, sentenced to 14 years in jail earlier this year for distributing cuttings from foreign publications.

Diplomats in the Burmese capital, Rangoon say the releases are an effort on the part of the Burmese regime to clean up its image following the recent crackdown on the activities of NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and a number of her colleagues.

House arrest

NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under virtual house arrest

She has been kept under de facto house arrest since her efforts to visit party workers in the north of the country were blocked by the authorities.

Telephone lines to her home have been cut and diplomatic access to her has been refused.

It is also thought the releases might be in response to quiet pressure from colleagues in the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

Its members are thought to have become increasingly exasperated by the Burmese Government's continued hardline against the opposition and the impact it was having on Asean's international standing.

The move also follows the publication of a UN report earlier this week detailing widespread human rights abuses in Burma, including state-sponsored murder, rape and torture in the authorities efforts to stamp out opposition.

On Wednesday a government statement dismissed the reports accusations saying that they were biased and based on information from insurgents.