Myanmar junta to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
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Relatives celebrate around a bus carrying prisoners being released from Insein prison in Yangon on April 17.
PHOTO: AFP
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YANGON – Myanmar’s military government said on April 17 that it would release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country’s new year festivities.
Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup
Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals, but most high-profile political prisoners, including deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, remain detained.
A junta statement said 4,893 prisoners would be pardoned “to participate in the state-building process, for peace of mind of people and on compassionate grounds”.
To convey the “loving kindness of the state”, the junta also said other prisoners would have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those who had committed serious offences.
The offences include unlawful association and terrorism, as well as murder and rape.
Around 30 buses exited the gates of Yangon’s Insein Prison just before noon on April 17.
Some of the hundreds on board disembarked outside the gates, reuniting with tearful families holding placards marked with their loved ones’ names.
The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes.
The amnesty announcement was made as junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly due to make a rare foreign trip to Bangkok to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the 10-country Asean bloc.
Asean has, in the past, barred junta officials from its summits over a lack of progress on a peace plan.
But Datuk Seri Anwar said he would meet the junta chief magnitude-7.7 earthquake
The junta has not confirmed the meeting.
Myanmar’s ongoing “Thingyan” water festival typically marks the country’s new year with water-splashing rituals representing cleansing and renewal.
But celebrations have been muted following the March 28 tremor in the country’s central belt, which has killed 3,725 according to the latest official toll.
AFP
