Myanmar’s military rulers announced an amnesty for 5,864 prisoners to mark 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 77 years of independence from British colonial rule, state media said.
The military said Saturday it had ordered the release “on humanitarian and compassionate grounds” and would commute the life sentences of 144 people to 15 years, according to state broadcaster MRTV.
No details were given on what the prisoners were convicted of and the nationalities of the foreign prisoners, who would be deported after their release, were not known.
The Associated Press news agency said the foreigners to be released may include four Thai fishermen who were detained by Myanmar’s navy in late November after patrol boats opened fire on Thai fishing vessels in waters near their maritime border in the sea. Andaman.
Thailand’s prime minister has said she expects the four to be released on Independence Day.
Myanmar regularly grants amnesty to thousands of people to commemorate Buddhist holidays or festivals. Last year the military government announced the release of more than 9,000 prisoners to mark independence. A similar release took place in October 2021.
Among the prisoners is the country’s former leader, Nobel Prize winner 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 charges.
This year’s Independence Day ceremony was held in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw and included 500 representatives from the government and military.
A speech by Myanmar’s military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing – who was not present at the event – ​​was delivered by Deputy Prime Minister and Army General Soe Win.
In the speech, he called on ethnic minority armed groups, which have been fighting military rule for the past four years, to lay down their arms and “resolve the political issue by peaceful means”.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military overthrew an elected civilian government and violently suppressed pro-democracy protests, leading to a nationwide armed insurgency that has made strong gains against the military on the battlefield.
Two weeks ago, a rebel group known as the Arakan Army captured a major regional command in the west of the country, the second to fall into the hands of the armed resistance movement in five months. The group also recently took control of a 271-km (168-mile) stretch of the border with Bangladesh when it captured the town of Maungdaw.
