Myanmar To Free Over 2K Political Dissidents

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Facts

  • On Wednesday, local news agency Myanmar Now reported that the country's ruling military council announced that 2,153 people jailed for "incitement" would be released on "humanitarian grounds" to mark Wesak, a major Buddhist holiday.1
  • The news cites Lt. Gen Aung Lin Dwe, secretary of the military council, who said that “the act was intended to bring peace of mind and was carried out in consideration of humanitarian grounds.”2
  • Those pardoned were reportedly all convicted under a section of the penal code that largely affects political activists, journalists, and those who demonstrated against the military after it took power in February 2021.3
  • The military did add, however, that those who re-offend will have to serve the remainder of their sentence with an additional penalty.4
  • It's not uncommon for Myanmar to release prisoners and grant amnesty during national holidays or Buddhist festivals. Last month, the military announced that 3,113 prisoners would be released during the traditional lunar New Year holiday.5
  • While over 3K have been killed by security forces since the military took power two years ago, over 17.8K people remain imprisoned, including ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2AA, 3La Prensa Latina Media, 4Bangkok Post, 5Associated Press (a), and 6Associated Press (b).

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by XIHUA. Prisoners being released on humanitarian grounds is a positive step toward improving relations with other countries, especially those of freed foreign prisoners. This should be particularly celebrated given that Myanmar also released over 3K prisoners last month to mark the Lunar New Year.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Radio Free Asia. While this is indeed great news for those freed and their families, the international community must not be deceived by this amnesty as thousands of political prisoners remain in jail. The junta is an authoritarian regime that has been arresting its opposition and killing civilians to remain in power; it's time to take stronger action.