Myanmar’s military regime has granted amnesty to nearly 4,900 prisoners to mark the country’s traditional New Year celebrations, state-run media reported on Thursday. However, it remains unclear how many of the released detainees were political prisoners incarcerated for resisting the army’s rule.
According to the military-controlled MRTV channel, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the chief of the ruling junta, pardoned 4,893 prisoners. Additionally, thirteen foreign nationals are to be released and deported from Myanmar.
While several prisoners received reduced sentences, those convicted of serious crimes such as murder and rape, or sentenced under various security laws, were excluded. The regime warned that released individuals who violate the law again will have to serve the remainder of their original sentence in addition to any new term of imprisonment.
Mass pardons during the Thingyan holiday are customary in Myanmar. The current round of releases will take place at prisons across the country.
Early Thursday morning, scores of relatives and friends gathered outside the gates of Yangon’s Insein Prison, awaiting the release of loved ones. However, no figures were immediately available regarding how many were freed from Insein under the amnesty.
Myanmar has been under military control since 1 February 2021, when the army deposed the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The coup triggered a nationwide civil disobedience movement that has since escalated into a full-scale civil war.
As of last Friday, some 22,197 political prisoners — including Suu Kyi — remained in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), an independent watchdog that documents arrests and casualties arising from the country’s ongoing conflict.
Many political detainees have been charged with incitement, a broadly defined offence frequently used to imprison critics of the military regime. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
This year’s Thingyan festivities have been more subdued than usual, as the country observes a national mourning period following a deadly earthquake that struck central Myanmar on 28 March. The 7.7 magnitude quake claimed approximately 3,725 lives and caused widespread destruction, affecting both modern buildings and historic pagodas.
In a televised New Year’s address on Thursday, Min Aung Hlaing pledged to “carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation measures in the quake-affected areas as quickly as possible”.
He also reiterated plans to hold general elections by year-end and urged opposition forces to settle differences through political dialogue rather than violence.
Despite the festival, clashes between the military and pro-democracy resistance forces persisted in rural areas, though casualty figures remained uncertain.
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