It is known from the prison authorities that the young political prisoners in Insein prison were chosen to perform during Thingyan.
A person close to the political prisoners said that the authorities of the Insein prison chose the young political women prisoners, who is still being sued in the detention of Insein prison last March 8, to participate in the Thingyan Festival entertainment.
“Now, in prison, it is made special selections of the political women prisoners to perform for Thingyan. They choose young women who are about 20 years old. They mainly choose those with white skin and good looks. There are 6 of our comrades in the dormitory. This is the exact list. They also choose others from other dorms. It is only prisoners,” he said.
He said that the prison authorities have not yet officially announced how they will be performed, but there are reports in the prison that they will be asked to perform by wearing short dress and pants.
The guys in Insein prison are not doing the Thingyan yam dance, but they are asking political prisoner to dance and perform in short pants. Why is there no yam dance yet? And they said that they have to wear short and long pants. The chosen ones are young women. “I don’t know if this is to spread the word that it’s Thingyan, or to ask people who are still in custody to go and perform in other places. This is just oppressing the political prisoners,” he added.
It is known that the number of political prisoners who have been selected is estimated to be more than 20.