Status: 01/04/2023 1:51 p.m
On the occasion of the 75th Independence Day in Myanmar, the military junta has announced an amnesty for more than 7,000 prisoners. Details about the upcoming election were also announced.
The military junta in Myanmar wants to pardon a total of 7,012 prisoners. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP news agency. The occasion is the 75th anniversary of independence from Great Britain.
Criminals will not be released
However, prisoners who are in prison for murder, rape, illegal associations, possession of weapons, drugs or corruption are excluded from pardon. The junta left open whether political prisoners would also be released.
It was not until the end of December that a court controlled by the military junta convicted Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted from power in the military coup in 2021, on allegations of corruption and extended her prison sentence to a total of 33 years.
Burma, now Myanmar, gained independence from Great Britain in 1948.
Image: dpa
Military-controlled elections later this year
The military celebrated Independence Day with a grand parade that included soldiers, police, and other state officials. Fighter jets, bombers and helicopters flew in the sky.
In his speech, the military chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, called on the country to unite and announced that parliamentary elections should be held by August this year. The elections will be held “free and fair,” Hlaing said.
The election is completely controlled by the military, and the opposition has been brutally repressed for the past two years. Many members of the National League for Democracy party, which Suu Kyi led, have also been arrested or fled.
General Min Aung Hlaing
Image: dpa
Observer: Election is meant to manifest power of the junta
The US has already described the elections as “sham elections”. According to observers, the vote is intended to legitimize and manifest the power of the military. They expect that the junta could abolish the previous majority voting system in advance. In the last elections in 2015 and 2020, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy had won overwhelming majorities.
In February 2021, the military overthrew Suu Kyi’s government and seized power. Since then, there have been repeated violent clashes between junta troops and the opposition in large parts of the Southeast Asian country. The military government is largely isolated internationally, and many countries are sanctioning the country.