The head of a leading American labor rights organization has appealed to the Burmese government for the release of six Burmese labor activists wrongfully accused of crimes against the state and subsequently sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

John Sweeney, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), issued his appeal in a letter, Wednesday, addressed to Senior General Than Shwe.

“As is well known to your Government, detaining and sentencing workers who

exercise their right to freedom of association is a blatant violation of international labor standards, including ILO Convention 87, which has been ratified by your country,” Sweeney wrote in his correspondence to the Burmese Head of State.

Referring to the six activists in question as “our colleagues,” Sweeney brought attention to the fact that critical in the convictions of those accused was the establishment of a link between them and the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB). However, Sweeney notes that the FTUB is legitimately recognized as a labor rights organization by the international trade union movement, to which the AFL-CIO is party.

The accusations against four of the labor activists stem from their intent to hold a meeting to discuss labor issues at the American Center in Rangoon following May Day celebrations earlier this year. The other two stand guilty of trying to bring the detention of their colleagues to the attention of the international community.

The six, convicted in a September 7th trial in Insein Prison and facing sentences ranging from 20 to 28 years, are: Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Myo Min, Kyaw Win, Nyi Nyi Zaw and Kyaw Kyaw.

On Wednesday, Kari Tapiola, executive director of the Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO), issued a statement calling for the immediate release of the six prisoners.

In her statement, Tapiola drew attention to the pattern of engagement that has existed between the Burmese junta and ILO – a rarity for an international organization in Burma – and raised concern that the sentencing of the six labor activists brought into jeopardy the status of Naypyidaw’s relationship with the ILO.

With an aim of empowering workers by providing them with a voice, the AFL-CIO, established in 1955, strives “to bring economic justice to the workplace and social justice to the nation.”