As of: 10/19/2021 7:28 a.m.
The pressure from neighboring countries has worked: Myanmar’s regime releases thousands of prisoners. Experts see this as just a political move – and not a change of heart on the part of the junta.
The military regime in Myanmar, under pressure from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has ordered the release of more than 5,600 prisoners nationwide, including many from the notorious Insein Prison in the largest city of Yangon.
On Monday evening (local time), the first prisoners, who had been arrested when the generals came to power in early February, left the detention center, which is notorious for torture.
Relatives held out in front of prisons
Other political prisoners, including parliamentarians and journalists, have been released in other cities such as Mandalay, Lashio, Meiktila and Myeik. Relatives and friends of the prisoners waited for hours in front of the prisons, many people lay crying in each other’s arms.
The amnesty has been described by some activists as a military move to restore international prestige. General Min Aung Hlaing, who has led the country since the coup on February 1, had previously been excluded from the next ASEAN summit at the end of October in an unusual move for the association. As a reason, ASEAN cited a lack of progress in implementing a five-point plan agreed at the end of April. Among other things, it was about an end to violence and the beginning of a dialogue with social forces.
People are waiting in front of the Insein prison in Myanmar for their relatives to be released.
Image: AFP
“Many of the detainees were tortured”
UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews welcomed the release on Twitter but said it was “outrageous” that they had been arrested in the first place. “The junta is releasing political prisoners in Myanmar not because of a change of heart, but because they have been pressured,” said Andrews.
He emphasized that many prisoners suffered extremely – and some did not survive imprisonment: “Many of the prisoners were tortured, some to death, others were victims of sexual assault, some were infected with Covid-19 and are in the overcrowded and died under unsanitary conditions. ”
More than 9,000 people imprisoned since the coup
Human rights activist Wai Wai Nu made a similar statement. She posted on her Facebook page: “International pressure works. Historically, political prisoners have only been released when the juntas want to reduce international pressure and gain legitimacy.”
According to the AAPP prisoners’ aid organization, more than 9,000 people have been detained for resisting the junta since the February 1 coup. Currently around 7,300 people are said to be in prison. At least 1,181 people were killed. Most recently, the military government ordered a mass amnesty for 2,300 prisoners at the end of June.