Myanmar\u2019s military rulers will release 5,864 prisoners, including 180 foreigners, under an amnesty to mark the country\u2019s 77 years of independence from British colonial rule, state media said. The military said on Saturday that it had ordered the release \u201con humanitarian and compassionate grounds\u201d and would commute the life sentences of 144 people to 15 years, according to state-run MRTV television. Details were not provided of what the prisoners had been convicted of and the nationalities of the foreign detainees, who were set to be deported on release, were not known. The Associated Press news agency said the foreigners to be released could include four Thai fishermen who were arrested by Myanmar\u2019s navy in late November after patrol boats opened fire on Thai fishing vessels in waters close to their maritime border in the Andaman Sea. Thailand\u2019s prime minister has said she expects the four to be released on Independence Day. Myanmar regularly grants amnesty to thousands of people to commemorate holidays or Buddhist festivals. Last year the military government announced the release of more than 9,000 prisoners to mark independence. A similar release took place in October 2021. Among those still imprisoned is the country\u2019s former leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The 79-year-old is serving a 27-year sentence tied to 14 criminal charges brought against her by the military, ranging from incitement and election fraud to corruption. She denies all the charges. This year\u2019s Independence Day ceremony was held in Myanmar\u2019s capital Naypyidaw and involved 500 representatives from the government and military. A speech by Myanmar\u2019s military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing \u2013 who was not present at the event \u2013 was delivered by deputy prime minister and army general, Soe Win. In the speech, he called on ethnic minority armed groups, that have been fighting military rule for the last four years, to put down their weapons and \u201cresolve the political issue through peaceful means\u201d. Myanmar has been in turmoil since early 2021, when the military overthrew an elected civilian government and violently suppressed pro-democracy protests, leading to a nationwide armed rebellion that has made strong gains against the military on the battlefield. Two weeks ago a rebel group known as the Arakan Army captured a major regional command in the country\u2019s west, the second to fall to the armed resistance movement in five months. The group also recently took control of a 271km (168 mile) stretch of the border with Bangladesh when it captured the town of Maungdaw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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