Bangkok: Myanmar’s military government has announced the release of approximately 4,900 prisoners to commemorate the country’s traditional New Year, state media reported on Thursday.
However, it remains uncertain how many of those freed are political detainees held for opposing military rule.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the ruling military council, granted amnesty to 4,893 prisoners, according to state broadcaster MRTV.
Additionally, 13 foreign nationals will be released and deported.
Some prisoners had their sentences reduced, though those convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, or violations of certain security laws were excluded from the amnesty.
The terms of release stipulate that any prisoner who reoffends will have to serve the remainder of their original sentence in addition to any new penalties.
The pardons are set to take effect at prisons across the country.
Amnesties during Thingyan, Myanmar’s traditional New Year holiday, are a customary gesture.
On Thursday morning, dozens of relatives and friends gathered outside Yangon’s Insein Prison, hoping for news of their loved ones.
Details regarding the number of prisoners released from Insein under this amnesty remain unclear.
Myanmar has been under military rule since February 1, 2021, when the army ousted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup sparked widespread nonviolent protests, which have since escalated into an armed conflict, plunging the country into civil war.
As of last week, an estimated 22,197 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, were in custody, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an independent group tracking arrests and casualties in the ongoing conflict.
Many political prisoners face charges of incitement, a broadly applied law used to silence dissent, punishable by up to three years in prison.
This year’s Thingyan celebrations were subdued, as the nation observed a period of mourning for victims of a catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28.
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The quake, which devastated central Myanmar, claimed approximately 3,725 lives and destroyed numerous structures, from modern buildings to historic pagodas.
In a televised New Year address, General Min Aung Hlaing pledged swift reconstruction in quake-hit areas and reiterated plans to hold general elections by year’s end.
He urged opposition forces to seek political solutions to the ongoing conflict.
Despite the holiday, fighting between the military and pro-democracy resistance groups persisted in rural areas, though the scale of casualties remains unknown.
