[JURIST] The government of Myanmar released 82-year old democracy activist U Tin Oo from six years of house arrest on Friday, just days before UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana, the is to visit the country. Oo, a decorated general, is the Vice-Chariman of the National League of Democracy (NLD), the opposition party headed by Aung San Syu Kyii, currently under house arrest herself. Opposition activists have been expecting his release after word leaked out the general was undergoing eye surgery at the American Eye Vision Hospital in Rangoon. Thant Zin Oo, the general’s son, said the release was a calculated political move designed to appease the UN.
The Burmese government announced last year that it was processing grants of immunity to allow prisoners to participate in the 2010 general elections but it is unclear if the NLD will take part in them. Burmese Home Minister Major General Maung Oo recently announced that Suu Kyi will be released from house arrest in November when her sentence is scheduled to expire.