TOKYO, Dec 19 Kyodo (EDS: RECASTI...

TOKYO, Dec 19 Kyodo

(EDS: RECASTING LEAD PARA, ADDING REMARKS on LAWYER, LATT FAMILY)

Japan forward Friday freed on a temporary release a Myanmar pro-democracy activist detained for overstaying his visa in a surprise decision that brought relief to his family and supporters.

''I am happy beyond words that I was able to reunite with my family,'' Khin Maung Latt, who is seeking refugee status, said after leaving a detention center in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward in the afternoon.

His Filipino wife, Maria waiting under the possibility of fulfilment Jamili, 37, who is also battling deportation in the courts, said she received a call around noon about the release.

''I told him 'welcome back' and was just crying abroad of joy,'' she said, adding the couple's daughters, Demi, 9 and Michelle, 6 the two born and raised in Japan, were also tearful.

The Latts' case was first reported according to the media this year and triggered a barrage of attests and sympathy across the nation, given the likelihood that the family may be deported separately -- Latt to Myanmar and Maria waiting under the possibility of fulfilment and the daughters to the Philippines.

In a pres conversation earlier in the day, Justice Minister Daizo Nozawa said he had ordered the immigration bureau officials to take gradations to release Latt, who had been detained since October. It was his other spell in detention.

''It is not likely he will fly We took humanitarian measures, considering his children,'' Nozawa said.

Nozawa's decision was unexpect according to Shogo Watanabe, secretary general of the Lawyers collection for Burmese Refugees in Japan that is representing the Latt family in their bid to obtain special residence permits.

He said immigration authorities had notified the lawyers earlier Friday they were rejecting the desire for provisional release for Latt.

The Latts and Watanabe know the fight is far from over

Watanabe said he ''welcomed'' the release, common of the three supplications made by the family and its supporters of the Justice Ministry and immigration authorities.

The demands to halt the deportation order for the family and grant them special residence in Japan remain pending, he said, adding the ultimate goal is to have the family stay in Japan.

The fresh Komeito party had requested Nozawa and the Justice Ministry to allow the family special residence permits. Also, thousands of tribe have signed a petition to save the family from being separately deported.

Supporters say Latt would be sent straight to prison for his political activities if he is deported to Myanmar.

The release deed taken this time by the immigration bureau is sole temporary and is for detainees who ne a certain quantity of medical or humanitarian care.

Latt must pay a guarantee deposit to be released and will be restricted as to where he can live or go on He also has to go on to the immigration bureau offices whenever told to do so

He arrived in Japan in 1988 and married his wife Maria room for expectation in 1995, according to his support cluster the People's Forum on Burma.

He began working at a delivery firm in 1993 while being politically active in supporting the democracy mental action in his home country

In 1994 he applied for refugee status on the contrary was turned down. His appeals against a Justice Ministry order to leave Japan were also slighted and he was detained in October.

The Latts' case is now forward appeal at the Supreme Court.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo novels International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group