Khin Nyunt, a former prime minister and military intelligence chief, was among those released on Friday [Reuters]
Myanmar’s government has begun releasing hundreds of prisoners, including many political detainees, pro-democracy activists say, as the country takes further steps towards political reform and ending its international isolation.
Myanmar state radio and television said on Friday that 651 detainees were being freed to take part in “nation-building.”
There was no official word on how many political prisoners would be included in the total, but among them was Sai Nyunt Lwin, 60, a prominent ethnic minority Shan politician, and Khin Nyunt, a former prime minister and military intelligence chief, a senior prison official said.
Among those reported to be released are Min Ko Naing, the leader of a pro-democracy student uprising in 1988, and Shin Gambira, a well-known Buddhist monk who led 2007 street protests.
Witnesses said the charismatic student leader was greeted by a huge crowd as he left prison in Thayet, 545km north of Yangon.
Myanmar democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party welcomed the amnesty granted by the government, describing it as
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