Yangon: Myanmar's military junta granted amnesty to over 6,000 prisoners nationwide as the Southeast Asian nation marked its 78th Independence Day, local media reported on Sunday. The National Defense and Security Council issued an order granting amnesty to 6,134 prisoners and detainees serving sentences in prisons, detention centers, and camps across the country, local media outlet Eleven reported.
According to Anadolu Agency, the order stated that the decision was taken in commemoration of Independence Day, with the aim of 'pacifying the hearts and minds of the people and respecting humanity.' In addition to the local prisoners, Myanmar's acting president also pardoned and deported 52 foreign prisoners, including Chinese citizens, serving sentences in various prisons and detention centers.
The measure to pardon foreign prisoners was taken to maintain friendly relations between countries and to respect humanitarian considerations, as stated in the order. This recent amnesty follows a mass amnesty in November, when the military junta released over 3,000 political prisoners ahead of the December elections and dropped charges against 5,580 people, ordering their release.
The country's 2021 military takeover, which ousted the elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), led to widespread civic unrest. The junta's repressive measures against protests resulted in thousands of imprisonments, including that of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been jailed for a total of 33 years.