Burma’s military government will release 7,012 prisoners as part of an Independence Day amnesty, state broadcaster MRTV said on Wednesday, as the junta chief praised some countries for maintaining support for his nation. The Southeast Asian country has faced international isolation and Western-led sanctions since the military took power from a democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi nearly two years ago.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in a speech marking Myanmar’s 75th independence day says “I want to thank some international and regional countries and organizations and individuals who have cooperated positively with us… amid all the pressure, criticism and attacks, We work closely with neighboring countries such as China, India, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh. We will work together for border stability and development,” with flag-waving civil servants, marching troops, tanks and military jets flying past.
Myanmar has been in chaos since the military seized power from Suu Kyi’s government on February 1, 2021, detaining her and other leaders and responding to pro-democracy protests and dissent with brutal force, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. While street protests are now rare after a bloody crackdown, the military is engaged in near-daily clashes with minority ethnic forces and insecurity has spread across the country as members of the so-called People’s Defense Forces have taken up arms to fight for a return. to democracy.
Suu Kyi was recently convicted on five counts of corruption and jailed for another seven years, ending a marathon of trials that were internationally condemned as a sham designed to keep the junta’s biggest threat at bay amid widespread domestic opposition to her rule & being held in solitary confinement in Naypyitaw prison, and the military insists she has been granted due process in an independent court.
Authorities usually release some prisoners to mark the day Myanmar declared independence from British rule. Thailand also hosted regional talks on the crisis last month, including rare international appearances by junta ministers, although several key members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who have been vocal critics of the junta, did not attend.
ASEAN is leading diplomatic peace efforts, and Myanmar’s generals have been barred from high-profile gatherings of the bloc for failing to follow through on promises to open talks with opponents linked to the ousted Suu Kyi government.
