Burma: The junta pardons nearly 6,000 prisoners

The Burmese junta announced on Saturday the amnesty of nearly 6,000 prisoners, an annual measure on the occasion of the anniversary of the country’s independence.

More than 5,800 detainees, including some 180 foreigners, will soon benefit from this measure, the junta said in a statement on Saturday, as Burma commemorates the date of January 4, 1948, when the country became independent from the United Kingdom.

No information has been released as to the reasons for their imprisonment or the nationalities of the foreign nationals concerned who will be deported.

“For humanitarian reasons and out of compassion”

The army explained that it had taken this decision “for humanitarian reasons and out of compassion”. She also announced that 144 people sentenced to life in prison would see their sentences commuted to 15 years of imprisonment.

Since its February 2021 coup, which ended a brief democratic experiment in Myanmar, the military has arrested thousands of people.

The country has been in the grip of increased unrest since the coup d’état which reignited fighting with a multitude of ethnic armed groups fighting the army for decades to obtain their autonomy and control of lucrative resources (jade, wood or even opium).

“Resolve the political situation by peaceful means”

The government regularly grants amnesty to thousands of prisoners during commemorations or Buddhist festivals. In 2024, the junta had released more than 9,000 detainees, again on the occasion of the anniversary of independence.

Saturday morning, the annual ceremony organized in the capital Naypyidaw was held under heavy protection, in front of an audience of some 500 members of the government and military. Deputy army chief Soe Win delivered a speech on behalf of absent junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Soe Win reiterated the junta’s call to dozens of ethnic armed groups in conflict with it to lay down their arms and “resolve the political situation by peaceful means.” He also reiterated the army’s commitment to organizing democratic elections, and called for national unity.

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