JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — As arrests of dissidents continue during anti-coup protests across Myanmar, experts are concerned that a new generation of political prisoners will begin to fill the country’s prisons. According to activist groups in Myanmar, some 696 people have been arrested in relation to the Feb. 1 coup. During previous junta rule that began in 1962 and lasted for decades, political prisoners were common, with thousands jailed for protesting the military. When Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy took power during a period of democratic reform, many political prisoners were freed. But many were also jailed for political activity during the party’s time in power.
