Myanmar’s military junta granted amnesty on Monday to more than 7,000 prisoners convicted of financing, sheltering or propagandising for a “terrorist group”, a designation it has used to outlaw pro-democracy factions opposing its rule.
Thousands of dissenting civilians have been swept into jails since Myanmar’s military snatched power in a 2021 coup, ending a decade-long experiment with democracy and detaining elected figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi.
Pro-democracy activists backing Suu Kyi and armed groups challenging the military in a civil war have been labelled “terrorist” outfits, and far-reaching laws punish association with life prison terms and possible death sentences.
A government notice said junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ordered the releases of more than 7,300 prisoners convicted under counter-terrorism provisions.
They include laws forbidding “financing of terrorism”, harbouring “any terrorist group” and the “exhortation, persuasion, propaganda, recruitment” of any person to join such groups.
Media monitors have criticised the junta for weaponising the legislation to muzzle journalists and social media users critical of their takeover.
It was not immediately clear which groups the prisoners had been convicted of association with.
In recent months, the junta has announced pardons for some political crimes in what analysts describe as a bid to soften its image amidst a handover to a nominally civilian government after elections concluded in January.
But with Suu Kyi still jailed, her party dissolved and the dominant pro-military party securing a walkover win, critics have derided the transition as a publicity exercise to rebrand the junta’s rule.
– Hundreds freed –
An AFP journalist outside Yangon’s Insein Prison — Myanmar’s most infamous lock-up, renowned for alleged rights abuses — saw around 300 prisoners being bussed out of the compound in a convoy on Monday morning.
A gaggle of emotional relatives clutched bouquets of flowers and placards bearing loved-ones’ names as prisoners were released from Insein’s barbed-wire boundary shortly before noon.
Min Aung Hlaing granted their release to mark a public holiday on Monday “in consideration of the peace of mind of the general public as well as on humanitarian grounds”, the government statement said.
Nearly 12,500 people facing trial on the same “terrorism” charges will have their cases dropped, according to a separate statement.
The junta frequently grants prison amnesties on public holidays, and Monday’s raft of notices also announced the release of more than 2,800 other prisoners and 10 jailed foreign nationals — without detailing their offences.
After ruling by force for more than five years, the military has said its phased month-long election will return power to the people and offer a chance to end the civil war.
But the poll did not take place in swaths of the country controlled by rebel groups and Min Aung Hlaing has not ruled out serving as president.
The new parliament is due to sit in two weeks, with a president elected in early April.
