Victory for Amnesty

Burma has released the two comedians imprisoned for telling jokes against the government.

U Pa Pa Lay and his cousin U Lu Zaw, known as the Moustache Brothers, were jailed five years ago.Their colleagues U Aung Soe and U Htwe were also released.

The news was welcomed by Amnesty International, which has spearheaded a high-profile campaign for their release, including using the We Know Where You Live benefit to highlight their case.

A spokesman said: "We are delighted that the fou have finally been released. We hope that they can soon return to the business of making jokes and entertaining the Burmese people without fear."

U Pa Pa Lay, 49, and U Lu Zaw, 45, were sentenced in March 1996 to seven years' imprisonment after one of their performances. U Htwe and U Aung Soe, two political activists who arranged the performance, were also sentenced to seven years

They were jailed following a show on 4 January 1996, the anniversary of Myanmar's independence from the UK.

U Pa Pa Lay's Anyeint troupe, a traditional Burmese entertainment group, performed during a celebration at the home of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon (Rangoon, the capital). She is the leader of the main opposition party National League for Democracy and is currently under de facto house arrest.

In their routine U Pa Pa Lay and U Lu Zaw joked about government cooperatives as thieves and sang a comic song about Myanmar's generals. They were arrested after they returned to their homes in Mandalay after the performance.

Thousands of Amnesty members around the world had called for the release of the comedians during their imprisonment.

Published: 16 Jul 2001