BURMA: The deputy chairman of the Burmese opposition, the National League for Democracy, has been released to house arrest after eight months in prison.
Relatives of Mr Tin Oo (77) said he had been moved on Saturday to the capital, Rangoon, from prison. "Except for being slightly thin, Tin Oo is healthy and fine," said a family source.
Armed security officers surrounding his home said only members of his family were allowed to visit him.
"It is good for him and his family, but it is difficult to interpret this as significant progress," an NLD official said. "We still don't have access to him."
Tin Oo was detained last May 30th after hundreds of government-hired thugs ambushed NLD leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy near Mandalay in northern Burma. He was never charged.
Witnesses say dozens of people were killed in the incident. Diplomats believe there were many fatalities. The government says four died.
Ms Suu Kyi and hundreds of her supporters were rounded up, mostly, the government said, "for their own safety".
Ms Suu Kyi, released in September, refuses to accept her freedom until all those held after the Mandalay attack are released.
Some 150 political prisoners have been released in recent months but Ms Suu Kyi, the NLD chairman, Aung Shwe, and Tin Oo remain under house arrest.
The military, which seized power in 1962, has announced a seven-stage road map to democracy and is keen to be seen to be involving many of the country's ethnic minorities.