Myanmar's military government announced a sweeping amnesty Sunday, releasing more than 6,100 prisoners to mark the 78th anniversary of the country's independence from British colonial rule, though human rights organizations say the gesture does little to address the plight of over 22,000 political detainees still held behind bars.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military junta that seized power in a February 2021 coup, pardoned 6,134 prisoners according to state-run MRTV television. The amnesty, which includes 52 foreign nationals, was described as a humanitarian gesture that "takes into consideration the public's peace of mind."
The military government also reduced sentences by one-sixth nationwide for inmates not convicted of serious crimes such as murder, rape, terrorism, corruption, and arms or drug-related offenses. However, it remains unclear whether those released include any of the thousands of political prisoners detained for opposing military rule.
Notably absent from the amnesty is former leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in the military takeover and has been held virtually incommunicado since then. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate faces decades in prison on a series of charges that her supporters and international observers dismiss as politically motivated.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that maintains detailed records of arrests and casualties related to Myanmar's political conflict, more than 22,000 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, remained in detention as of last Tuesday. The organization has documented systematic human rights abuses by the military since the coup.
The amnesty comes as the military government proceeds with a monthlong, three-stage election process that critics dismiss as a sham designed to legitimize military rule. Pro-democracy groups and many ethnic minority organizations have boycotted the elections, calling them neither free nor fair.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement Sunday calling on the military to cease violence against civilians, allow unhindered humanitarian access to affected populations, release those unjustly detained, and engage in meaningful dialogue to pursue a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis.
Myanmar gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948. The country has experienced periodic military rule and ongoing ethnic conflicts since then, with the current crisis representing one of the most violent chapters in its post-independence history. The civil war has displaced hundreds of thousands and created a humanitarian catastrophe that international aid organizations struggle to address amid military restrictions on access.
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