Mar 11, 2006 (DVB) - Renowned Burmese journalist Win Tin who has been detained at the notorious Rangoon Insein Jail for 17 years, is not allowed to celebrate his birthday which falls on 12 March.
Moreover, Win Tin’s health condition is very poor as he has been suffering from high blood pressures, acute heart condition and diabetes, and he has been given medical check-ups once a month, according to Maung Maung Khin who went to see him at the prison today.
"I see him once every fortnight for 25-30 minutes at a times. He didn’t say anything particular. He just asked me about this and that," said Maung Maung Khin who also said that Win Tin noted that the door must be knocked until it opens referring to the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) recent special statement calling for the release of all political prisoners and the start of political dialogues for the sake of national reconciliation. "He was joking about what had happened to him. He was joking about the time when he was recalled after he was told that he would be released in November 2004 and in July (2005) when he was recalled at the gate of the prison after he was told that he was going to be freed."
Win Tin is highly respected by his colleagues, pupils and readers as a talented journalist, writer and poet with noble heart full of loving kindness. Recently, Paris-based reporteurs sans frontiers (RSF) and exiled Burma Media Association (BMA) called for his release for his birthday, but the military authorities in Rangoon are not likely to heed their demand.
