Myanmar Frees 4,900 Prisoners for New Year Amnesty

Post by: Pratik Kumar

Photo : AP

Myanmar’s military government has freed about 4,900 prisoners to celebrate the country’s traditional New Year, according to state media. The exact number of political prisoners who were released is not clear, as some of them are in jail for opposing the military government.

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The head of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, granted amnesty to 4,893 prisoners. Thirteen foreign prisoners will also be freed and sent back to their home countries. Some other prisoners had their sentences reduced, but those who were convicted of serious crimes like murder or rape were not released. Those who break the law again will have to finish their original sentence as well as any new sentence.

Giving amnesty during the New Year is a common practice in Myanmar. The releases will take place in prisons all over the country. Outside Insein Prison in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, many families were waiting to hear if their loved ones would be freed. But it was not clear how many prisoners from Insein would be included in the amnesty.

Myanmar has been under military rule since February 2021, when the army took power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The army’s actions were met with many protests, and since then, fighting has broken out between the army and groups against military rule. The country is now in a civil war.

As of last week, about 22,000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, are still being held in Myanmar. Many have been charged with incitement, a charge often used to arrest people who criticize the government. This charge can lead to up to three years in prison.

This year, Myanmar’s Thingyan New Year celebrations were quieter than usual because the country is still recovering from a big earthquake that happened on March 28. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, killed about 3,725 people and caused a lot of damage, destroying buildings and historical sites.

In his speech for the New Year, Min Aung Hlaing said the government would work fast to rebuild the areas affected by the earthquake. He also said there would be an election later this year and urged opposition groups to try to solve problems peacefully through politics.

Even during the New Year holiday, fighting between the army and pro-democracy groups continued in rural areas. The exact number of people hurt or killed in these clashes is still not known.

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