YANGON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military authorities announced on Sunday they would release more than 6,000 prisoners to mark Independence Day, as the junta moves toward holding a controversial general election later this year.
A total of 6,186 prisoners, including 264 foreigners, were granted amnesty "on humanitarian grounds" and to mark the 78th anniversary of the country's independence from British colonial rule, the military government said in a statement.
Among those released were members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, though many high-profile political figures and activists remain behind bars. Local media reported scenes of families gathering outside Insein Prison in Yangon, waiting for their loved ones to emerge.
The mass release comes at a critical time for the military council, which has faced significant territorial losses to ethnic minority armed groups and pro-democracy resistance fighters over the past year.
The junta has signaled that it intends to hold a general election in 2026, a move that Western nations and the United Nations have dismissed as a "sham," arguing that a fair vote is impossible while the country remains in a state of civil war and political opponents are imprisoned.
"This is a standard tactic by the junta to try and deflect international criticism," said a regional human rights advocate who requested anonymity. "They release a few thousand people to appear lenient while maintaining their grip on power and continuing a campaign of violence in the borderlands."
Aung San Suu Kyi, 80, remains under house arrest in the capital, Naypyidaw. She was detained during the February 2021 coup and later sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on a variety of charges that her supporters say were politically motivated.
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar has been plunged into chaos, with the economy failing and more than 3 million people displaced by fighting, according to United Nations figures. Monitoring groups state that over 25,000 people have been arrested by the military since the takeover.
Photo from Reuters
