Poet Imprisoned in Burma
Dear Sir,
We would like to draw the attention of your readers – as well as yourselves as fellow journalists and writers – to the
conditions under which the poet and comedian Zargana is forced to live in a Burmese jail.
He was convicted for doing something we would all consider normal – expressing an opinion about the government of his
country. For this “offence” he was imprisoned for a term of thirty-five years. In prison he has developed heart
problems, jaundice and a stomach ulcer. He has been transferred to a hospital, but to one that is not equipped to give
him the care he requires for these complaints. In addition, he is denied the right to receive visits from his family,
surely something we would expect any patient to enjoy and indeed, as moral support, an essential part of his medical
treatment.
Anyone who wishes to offer support to this writer, entertainer and fellow human being should do so in the form of
correspondence to the Embassy of Myanmar.
Dr. Nelson Wattie
PEN representative of the New Zealand Society of Authors
ENDS