Myanmar on Monday announced an amnesty for more than 8,500 prisoners — including 51 foreigners and at least three dozen political prisoners. The action appeared to apply solely to convicted criminals rather than those waiting to be sentenced, suggesting the move is more of a presidential pardon than a blanket amnesty.

This was the first such action taken under President Win Myint, the proxy of National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The release of political prisoners was a priority for the party when it took over power from a military junta in 2016.

Read more: Myanmar's Suu Kyi vows 'immediate release of political prisoners'

The action was taken to mark the country's traditional New Year and to offer "humanitarian support," according to the country’s deputy information minister.

The elderly, those in ill health, and drug offenders were amongst those freed.

Some 6,000 detainees serving drugs-related sentences and nearly 2,000 military and police personnel were also released.

Thirty-six of those freed had been listed as political prisoners by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

Win Myint became president in March after his predecessor, Htin Kyaw, stepped down due to illness.

Read more: Myanmar elects Win Myint as new president

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Darling of democracy The daughter of Myanmar's assassinated founding father, Aung San Suu Kyi returned to her home country in the 1980s after studying and starting a family in England. She became a key figure in the 1988 uprisings against the country's military dictatorship. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) was victorious in 1990 elections but the government refused to honor the vote.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Military rule Suu Kyi spent 15 of the 21 years between 1989 and 2010 under house arrest. After 1995, the rights advocate was barred from seeing her two sons and husband, Michael Aris, even after the latter was diagnosed with cancer.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah 'The Lady' Suu Kyi's determination to bring democracy and human rights to her country won her international renown, including the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She was so popular that in 2011 famous French director Luc Besson made a biopic of her life starring Michelle Yeoh. She was often called the world's most famous political prisoner.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Sworn in as lawmaker Decades of campaigning finally paid off and in 2012 Suu Kyi was allowed to run in free elections. She won a seat in parliament as Myanmar began its transition away from military government. Since general elections in 2015 she has been the country's de facto civilian leader, although officially she is the foreign minister and state counsellor under President Htin Kyaw.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Persecution of the Rohingya Rohingya are a mostly Muslim ethnic group who had their citizenship revoked by Myanmar's Buddhist-majority government in 1982. Long persecuted, their plight intensified in 2016 when the military began what it calls "clearance" of illegal immigrants - but what groups like Human Rights Watch have described as "ethnic cleansing." Thousands have died and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Fall from grace When she became state counsellor in 2016, Suu Kyi set up a commission to investigate claims of atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine state. Suu Kyi has accused the Rohingya of spreading "a huge iceberg of misinformation," and that she is concerned by the "terrorist threat" posed by extremists. Her stance sparked protests in Muslim-majority countries around the world.

Aung San Suu Kyi: From freedom fighter to pariah Nobel no more? Suu Kyi has been stripped of various honors and lost much of her international support due to her handling of the Rohingya crisis. The Nobel committee was forced to issue a statement saying that her peace prize could not be revoked. Fellow Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai called on Suu Kyi to "stop the violence." Suu Kyi has said that outsiders do not grasp the complexities of the situation. Author: Elizabeth Schumacher



The AAPP welcomed and supported the release of political prisoners. "But there should not be a single political prisoner in a democratic country," said the organization's Myanmar representative Aung Myo Kyaw. "It will be better if remaining political prisoners and also those who are still facing charges were pardoned."

Suu Kyi said that releasing the remaining political prisoners was a top priority.

Listen to audio 06:52 Share World in Progress: Press freedom in Myanmar Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/2t4kE World in Progress: The fate of two imprisoned Reuters journalists

How many political prisoners are in Myanmar?

At the end of last month, there were 248. Fifty-four of those were serving sentences, 74 awaiting trial inside prison and 120 on bail, according to AAPP figures.

Who will not be released?

Two reporters from the international news organization Reuters facing trial for possessing secret official documents were not included in the amnesty because of ongoing legal proceedings. They had been arrested while reporting on a military crackdown in the northern Rakhine state which has prompted more than 660,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to bordering Bangladesh and claimed around 6,700 lives. A pre-trial hearing in a Yangon court is scheduled for Friday. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo face up to 14 years in prison if convicted.

Myanmar's de facto leader

Aung San Suu Kyi holds the title of state counselor, a position created for Suu Kyi following the 2016 election. She is constitutionally barred from serving as president because her two children are British, as was her late husband.

kw/msh (AP, dpa)