Political prisoners expected to be freed before parliament

The ruling military junta of Burma is expected to grant amnesty to all political prisoners before the first session of the new parliament, according to sources from Naypyitaw.


“They [the junta] said all the political prisoners will be released. But no dates or any further details were given. But it is to be either before or when the parliament is opened,” a source close to the junta said.




The opening of the new Burma’s parliament is expected to take place in late January, the Irrawaddy reported earlier.


At the same time, eleven local pro-democracy organizations urged the military junta on Monday to release more than 2,200 political prisoners on the Burma’s Independence Day, yesterday January 4.


According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, there are 2,203 political prisoners in Burma.


In September last year, a total of 7,114 prisoners were freed and among those over 200 were political prisoners.


Source:http://shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3395:political-prisoners-expected-to-be-freed-before-parliament&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266

Comments