Myanmar junta says to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup cut short Myanmar's experiment with democracy and plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war.
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 will 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 around 11:30 am (0500 GMT), an AFP journalist saw.
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 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 this year.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has in the past barred junta officials from its summits over lack of progress on a peace plan.
But Anwar said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian humanitarian teams dispatched to Myanmar following last month's 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.
bur-jts/sjc/dhc
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Veteran of ‘secret war' in Laos buried in N.H. with long-deferred US military honors
Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up That enabled Phayamouk's son, US Army Staff Sergeant Adam Phayamouk, to reapply this year and secure approval for Monday's memorial ceremony. Advertisement 'He finally gets to get recognized,' Adam Phayamouk said, describing the memorial event as 'a final salute' to acknowledge that his father is being honored not just by his family but also by 'the nation he fought beside.' Theodore Phayamouk was serving with the Royal Lao Air Force when he was sent in 1971 for training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, his son said. He graduated in 1972 with expertise in installing, repairing, and maintaining antennas, wiring, and other systems, then he was stationed at Wattay Air Base just outside Vientiane, Laos, where the Royal Lao Air Force coordinated closely with US forces. Advertisement Although the United States didn't publicly acknowledge its efforts in Laos at the time, there has since been a slow-growing recognition of the sacrifices A few months after the fall of Saigon in Vietnam in 1975, communist forces prevailed in Laos as well, sending Phayamouk and his wife fleeing across the Mekong River, into Thailand, where they spent years in a refugee camp before immigrating to the United States. Adam Phayamouk said his father — who had been known as Bounleua Nitnoidara before he became a US citizen — would have been imprisoned or even executed if he had remained in Laos under communist rule. 'He had no country but the US to go to,' he said. Adam Phayamouk, 39, said he grew up in New Hampshire. His family lived in Exeter while his father worked for The family placed Theodore Phayamouk's funerary urn at a Buddhist temple in Lowell, Mass., and Buddhist monks will join military personnel for Monday's re-interment of his ashes at the veterans cemetery, his son said. Advertisement 'He finally has a home and a good resting place, among other military service members,' he said. This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Steven Porter can be reached at
Wall Street Journal
4 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump and Zelensky Meet in Oval Office Following Putin Summit
President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to reporters from the Oval Office before their meeting on a potential path to end the war with Russia. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
New York Post
4 hours ago
- New York Post
Right-wing reporter Brian Glenn praises Zelensky's attire after shaming him in February
Brian Glenn, the chief White House correspondent of Real America's Voice, praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's military-style suit. Back in February, Glenn — who is dating Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — publicly chastised Zelensky's attire during a chaotic Oval Office meeting. 'First, President Zelensky, you look fabulous in that suit. You look good,' Glenn said on Monday. Advertisement In a lighter moment during Zelensky and Trump's Oval Office meeting, the Ukrainian president got an apology from a reporter — who is dating Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — who had criticized his outfit the last time Zelensky sat here in February. AFP via Getty Images 'I apologize to you. Look wonderful,' he added. Zelensky joked in response, 'It's the same suit.' The Oval Office erupted in laughter from officials and the White House pool reporters.
