Some 6966 prisoners were pardoned, including the Chinese citizens held in Kachin state, of whom 153 were given life sentences last week that prompted a diplomatic protest by an “extremely concerned” China.
Advertisement
An Information Ministry statement said 6,966 prisoners, including 210 foreigners, were being freed across the country “on humanitarian grounds and in view of national reconciliation”.
He didn’t provide details on the foreigners who were released.
Among those released were some at the start of lengthy sentences, including 155 Chinese workers jailed amid a crackdown on illegal logging in Burmese forests.
Jia Duqiang, an expert on Southeast Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the severe sentences may serve as a warning to those considering business deals with Myanmar’s ethnic groups, as such arrangements may not be sanctioned by the country’s authorities. The Chinese foreign ministry welcomed the release of the loggers, who are set to return to their homeland on Friday.
Some 7,000 prisoners, including recently convicted 155 Chinese loggers, received pardon from the government of Myanmar, Metro Radio Hong Kong reported Thursday.
“Many prisoners will be released, but I’m not sure what kind of prisoners”, he said. Four reporters and the chief executive of The Unity Journal and five editorial staff of Bi Monday Te Nay Journal were not included in the amnesty list, according to their families.
Although the major charges against the officers involved corruption, it was their ties to former intelligence chief and prime minister Khin Nyunt that led to their jailing.
Others included former military intelligence officials purged by their army colleagues more than a decade ago.
Though Thein Sein had promised to free all political prisoners by the end of 2014, as part of a much-lauded process of reform after a half-century of brutal military dictatorship, AAPP estimate around 158 remain behind bars. Relatives gathered outside the prison gates on Thursday morning, waiting for news of their incarcerated family members. Sein is likely to be a candidate again when presidential campaigns begin in August.
Advertisement
Pro-democracy activists, however, slammed the government for releasing Chinese loggers and former military officers rather than jailed activists.
