The military regime in Myanmar frees thousands of prisoners under an amnesty Military news

Myanmar’s military rulers have pardoned 5,864 prisoners on Independence Day, state media reported.

Myanmar’s military rulers will release 5,864 prisoners, including 180 foreigners, under an amnesty marking the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence from British colonial rule, state media said.

The army said on Saturday that it had ordered the release “on humanitarian and compassionate grounds” and would reduce the life sentences of 144 people to 15 years, according to state-run MRTV.

No details were provided of what the prisoners were convicted of and the nationalities of the foreign detainees who were scheduled to be deported upon their release were not known.

Among the foreigners scheduled for release are four Thai fishermen who were arrested by the Myanmar navy in late November after patrol boats opened fire on Thai fishing vessels in waters near its maritime border in the Andaman Sea, the Associated Press news agency said.

The Thai Prime Minister said she expected 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 on the occasion of independence. similar Released October 2021.

Among those still imprisoned is the country’s former leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The 79-year-old is serving a 27-year prison sentence linked to 14 criminal charges brought against her by the military, ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption. She denies all charges.

This year’s Independence Day ceremony was held in the Myanmar capital, Naypyidaw, in which 500 representatives of the government and the army participated.

Deputy Prime Minister and Army General Soe Win delivered a speech by Myanmar’s Army Commander, General Min Aung Hlaing, who was not present at the event.

In his speech, he called on armed ethnic minority groups, which have been fighting military rule for the past four years, to lay down their weapons and “resolve the political issue through peaceful means.”

Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military ousted an elected civilian government and violently suppressed pro-democracy protests, triggering a nationwide armed rebellion that has made strong gains against the military on the battlefield.

Two weeks ago, a rebel group known as the Arakan Army seized a key 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-kilometre (168-mile) stretch of the border with Bangladesh when it captured the town of Maungdaw.