Myanmar to free 10 Aceh fishermen in February

01/15/09 15:00
Myanmar to free 10 Aceh fishermen in February

Banda Aceh (ANTARA News)- Ten Acehnese fishermen jailed by Myanmar authorities for trespassing will be released in February 2009 after the Myanmar government agreed to reduce their jail terms, a spokesman for Aceh`s traditional fishermen`s organization said.

The Myanmar government agreed to the remission after lobbying by the Indonesian embassy in Yangon through the Myanmar home affairs ministry, M. Adli Abdullah, secretary general of the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) traditional fishermen`s association, said here Thursday.

The NAD fishermen who had been held in a prison in Myeik town in Thaintharyi division since February 2008 were recently transferred to a penitentiary in Yangon, Myanmar`s national capital.

Abdullah said he had received the information on the 10 fishermen`s jail term reduction in a telephone call from Fakhrurazy, a consular affairs official at the Indonesian embassy in Yangon.

With the release of the 10 fishermen next February, Myanmar would have freed all Indonesian fisherman it had detained so far.

Five of the fishermen had been on the "KM Family" which left Lampulo fishing port in Banda Aceh on November 19, 2007 to catch fish in Aceh waters.

They were intercepted by the Myanmar Navy about 50 miles from Myanmar`s outermost island on November 22, 2007 after experiencing engine trouble, They were held for three days on the island and then moved to Myeik prison.

The five other Aceh fishermen had been on the "KM Rahmat" , which left Banda Aceh on February 1, 2008.

On their way home on February 8, 2008, about 70 miles off the Myanmar coast, they were stopped by the Myanmar navy and had been held in the Myeik prison since February 13, 2008.