Myanmar’s civilian government demands more pressure to release all political prisoners

Myanmar’s civilian National Unity Government (NUG) urged the population and the international community to increase pressure to force the junta to unconditionally release all political prisoners.

Following the regime’s amnesty on Thursday that saw the release of some prominent political prisoners, acting president Duwa Lashi La said the releases were a result of pressure.

“But there are thousands of political prisoners, including President U Win Myint and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Many have been tortured and there are daily arrests,” he said.

“The regime’s amnesty could be seen as an act of compassion and mercy but it’s really an attempt to reduce the pressure,” he said.

The 2021 coup sparked widespread protests that met with deadly crackdowns, leading to thousands of arrests and fueling armed resistance across the country.

The international community, including the US and EU, have responded to the junta crackdowns with sanctions against the regime’s leadership and its business associates and called for the release of all political prisoners.

The regime released a National League for Democracy minister, party spokesman Myo Nyunt, former student leader Ko Mya Aye and an anti-regime activist Buddhist monk among almost 6,000 prisoners granted amnesty on Thursday.

Ko Mya Aye, one of the leaders of the ’88 Generation Students group, and Dr. Myo Nyunt were released from Yangon’s Insein Prison. Both were arrested during the February 1 coup.

Agencies