Myanmar’s military junta announced on Thursday (17th) that about 6,000 prisoners will be released, including a former British ambassador, an Australian adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government, and a Japanese journalist.
The junta said in a statement that the three foreigners were “pardoned and deported” and later said the prisoners boarded a plane bound for Thailand.
A senior official said that former diplomat Vicky Bowman, Australian economic adviser Sean Turnell and Japanese journalist Toru Kubota were released “on account of a national holiday” celebrated on Thursday.
According to an AFP correspondent and diplomatic sources, they departed Myanmar on a commercial flight at 5:30 PM (8:00 AM GMT) and their final destination was Bangkok.
The decision is a rare sign of openness for the military, which came to power in a coup on February 1, 2021.
After the coup, thousands of people were arrested in the bloody repression of the opposition.
Three buses carrying the pardoned prisoners left the Insein prison in Rangoon shortly after 3 pm (5:30 GMT) local time and passed through a crowd of 200 people, AFP reporters at the scene reported.
A woman, unwilling to reveal her identity for fear of reprisal, awaited her husband, who had served half his three-year sentence for inciting the army to opposition.
“Previously, he was a supporter of USDP [partido apoiado pelo exército]???????? He joined the protests after the coup,” said Burmalı, adding that he was “very proud” of his wife.
Pressure from NGOs
“A total of 5,774 detainees, 600 of whom are women, will be released,” the regime official said.
Human rights organizations have been demanding the release of detainees for months, denouncing the policies of a junta accused of dragging the country into a bloody conflict since the coup.
According to a local NGO, more than 2,300 civilians have died at the hands of security forces since the coup.
The junta blames the armed opposition for the deaths of more than 3,900 civilians.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.