Myanmar’s military regime will release thousands of prisoners with an amnesty | Military news
Myanmar’s military rulers announced an amnesty for 5,864 prisoners on the occasion of Independence Day, state media reported.
Myanmar’s military rulers will release 5,864 prisoners, including 180 foreigners, under an amnesty to mark the country’s 77th year of independence from British colonial rule, state media said.
The army said on Saturday that it had ordered the release “for humanitarian and compassionate reasons” and would commute the life sentences of 144 people to 15 years, according to state broadcaster MRTV.
No details were provided for what the prisoners were convicted of, and the nationalities of the foreign detainees who were to be deported upon release were not known.
The Associated Press news agency said the foreigners to be released could include four Thai fishermen arrested by Myanmar’s navy in late November after patrol boats opened fire on Thai fishing boats in waters near their maritime border in the Andaman Sea.
Thailand’s prime minister said she expected the four to be released on Independence Day.
Myanmar regularly grants amnesty to thousands of people to mark holidays or Buddhist festivals. Last year, the military government announced the release of more than 9,000 prisoners to mark independence. Similarly the release took place in October 2021.
Among those still in prison is the country’s former leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The 79-year-old is serving a 27-year sentence related to 14 criminal charges filed against her by the military, ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption. She denies all the allegations.
This year’s Independence Day ceremony was held in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and included 500 government and military representatives.
A speech by Myanmar’s military commander, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing – who was not present at the event – was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Army General, Soe Win.
In his speech, he called on armed groups of ethnic minorities, who have been fighting against the military government for the last four years, to lay down their weapons and “solve the political issue peacefully”.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military overthrew an elected civilian government and violently suppressed pro-democracy protests, leading to an armed insurgency across the country that has made strong gains against the military on the battlefield.
Two weeks ago, a rebel group known as the Arakan Army seized a key regional command in the country’s west, the second to fall from the armed resistance movement in five months. The group also recently took control of a 271 km (168 mi) stretch of the border with Bangladesh when it captured the town of Maungdaw.
