Hundreds of names have been removed from Myanmar’s notorious blacklist, created by successive military regimes to keep out people considered undesirable. Aka: dissidents, foreign journalists, politicians, armed group leaders, and run-of-the-mill criminals.
A total of 619 people – including 371 foreigners – have been scratched off the list by the new government led by state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar Times reports.
Thein Swe, the Minister for Labor, Immigration and Population, revealed yesterday that was a total 4,300 names on the ‘no-entry’ list. Of those, 3937 were foreigners.
“Most foreigners remain on the blacklist because the international community asked us to include them as they are implicated in terrorism cases, cross-border criminal cases or drug cases,” U Thein Swe said.
The enforcement of the blacklist – whose length was never previously known – has forced many Myanmar activists to live overseas. While the former semi-civilian government removed 2,000 names, some of those removed said they continued to face problems with getting visas or permanent residency.
According to Zaw Htay, deputy director of the President’s Office, Suu Kyi personally intervened on behalf of Maung Maung One, a political dissident who lives in exile in the US. He flew to Myanmar on August 1 but was detained at the airport and then deported.
Zaw Htay said there was a “misunderstanding” and Suu Kyi’s instructions were not followed.
It doesn’t look like Maung Maung One, who works as an English teacher in New York, is about to jump on another transcontinental flight, though.
“Now, I’m in New York,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “And I will not be coming back [to Myanmar] immediately.”
Fair enough.
