HRW wants more from Myanmar

Human Rights Watch said, while reforms by the government in Myanmar are welcome, more work is needed to address serious rights concerns. The rights group said the rhetoric of reform from the government shouldn't give authorities a free pass on outstanding rights issues in the country. "Releasing key political prisoners was a crucial step and Myanmar's government has voiced promises to reform but it must also address decades of gross human rights violations," Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Myanmar had its first general election in 2010 in years and released opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from a lengthy house arrest. Suu Kyi said recently she was re-entering the country's political system. The government this year signed a truce with rebels from the Karen ethnic community and released hundreds of political prisoners. But the rights group said the country's military continues to violate international human rights law by enslaving and torturing ethnic minorities. "If 2011 was the year of promises, 2012 is the year Myanmar's government needs to end the country's culture of impunity, release all remaining political prisoners, and demonstrate through actions that it respects human rights," Pearson said.