2011 Prisoner Hunger Strike
On May 24, 2011, the Myanmar government retaliated against a hunger strike by about 30 political prisoners in the prison by forcing the ringleaders into solitary confinement. The hunger strike began when seven female prisoners protested against a government prisoner amnesty program that failed to include most political detainees. On May 23, 22 male prisoners, including three Buddhist monks, joined the protest, demanding better prison living conditions and improved family visiting rights. According to Aung Din, the executive director of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, “The latest information we have received is that six of the ‘leaders’ of the strike from the male group have been moved to what is known as the ‘dog cell’—a small cell block where they could be tortured and family visits are not allowed.” One of the prisoners moved was an editor of The Kantaryawaddy Times, Nyi Nyi Htun.
Read more about this topic: Insein Prison, Protests Within The Prison
Famous quotes containing the words hunger, prisoner and/or strike:
“How prompt we are to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our bodies; how slow to satisfy the hunger and thirst of our souls!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The prisoner is not the one who has commited a crime, but the one who clings to his crime and lives it over and over.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“Talk to me not of blasphemy, man; I’d strike the sun if it insulted me.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)