Myanmar Junta Says No Negotiations Behind Release of Thousands of Prisoners, Activists Say Old Trick

Zaw Min Tun (right) together with officials of the Myanmar military regime gave a press statement. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA Burmese)

JAKARTA - Myanmar's military junta says there is no bargaining behind the release of thousands of prisoners, while activist groups call the old trick due to international pressure, hoping for the release of all political prisoners.

Myanmar's military regime frees some 6,000 prisoners from prison under amnesty, Myanmar media said Thursday

Among those freed by the military regime was Australian economist Sean Turnell, who was also a former adviser to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Irrawaddy News and BBC Burma reported Vicky Bowman, a former British envoy, and Toru Kubota, a Japanese filmmaker, were also among those freed by the junta. Also freed is US citizen Kyaw Htay Oo.

Myanmar's ruling military did not engage in political bargaining with other countries before releasing four foreign detainees among nearly 6,000 people in this week's amnesty, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told a regular Friday briefing, Launch Reuters on November 18.

The leader of the Myanmar military regime, General Min Aung Hlaing. (Wikimedia Commons/Vadim Savitsky)

In addition to foreigners, those included in the release included a minister from the country's ousted National League for Democracy (NLD), a party spokesman, a former student leader, and an anti-regime activist Buddhist monk, reports The Irrawaddy.

Ko Mya Aye, one of the leaders of the Generation '88 Student group, was released from Yangon Insein Prison along with NLD spokesman Dr. Myo Nyunt. Both were arrested by the regime on the first day of the coup on February 1 last year.

Writers Maung Tha Cho, known for his satirical works criticizing Myanmar's military before the coup, and Shwe Nyawa Sayadaw, an anti-regime Buddhist monk, were also among those freed.

State media said the mass amnesty announced on Thursday was to mark the country's National Day.

Separately, the Burmese-Political Prisoners Assistance Association (AAPP), a local advocacy group for prisoners' rights, told The Irrawaddy it had recorded the release of 52 political prisoners from regime prisons in Yangon, Bago and Mandalay regions as of Thursday afternoon.

Illustration of Myanmar citizens waiting for the release of prisoners in Yangon prison. (Twitter/@Bago's Spring Revolution)

The AAPP said the regime had arrested 16,232 people since the takeover and 13,015 were detained as of Wednesday. The regime has killed more than 2,400 people since the takeover.

The newly released NLD spokesman, Dr. Myo Nyunt, shouted from the bus window to the assembled crowd: "This release is good for me, but I still want something good for the country."

Meanwhile, Ko Mya Aye, head of the '88 Generation Student group, said "I will be with the people of Myanmar."

AAPP Joint Secretary Ko Bo Kyi said regime amnesty was an old trick used by successive juntas whenever they faced international pressure.

Currently, the regime is under pressure not only from Western democracies but also from regional groups such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member.

The joint secretary said he was unhappy with the amnesty, pointing out that it would make no difference to Myanmar, as there are many other political prisoners remaining in prison, while political dissidents continue to be arrested.

He stressed that the international community must realize that Thursday's amnesty is not enough.

"The regime must release all (political prisoners) unconditionally, including Presidents U Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi. To make this happen, the world must continue to pressure the junta", he said.