November 22, 2022
The military council recently announced that it granted amnesty to jailed members of the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) including other prisoners on November 17 (National Day) and November 18.
Myanmar political analysts criticized the release of prisoners and EAO members as the military council’s preparation for the upcoming election.
“I think the military council released some political prisoners to get a positive view at a time when not only the UN but also the western countries led by the US are criticizing that they have no trust in the planned election, and it will not be in accord with the democratic norm,” U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst told the DMG.
“The freeing of detained EAO members will have no impact on current armed conflicts,” U Than Soe Naing continued.
The military council declared that it freed 5,774 prisoners on November 17 and 18 members of the Arakan Army (AA), 20 members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), five members of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) and two from the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army (KNU/KNLA), on November 18.
“The number of political prisoners released by the military council is very few. I can see the release of prisoners from a constructive point of view. However, the number of civilians being inspected and arrested by the army on suspicion in conflict-affected areas is higher than that. The military needs to release prisoners of conscience. The military also needs to deal with the public’s fears in ethnic areas including Arakan State, livelihood difficulties of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and travel ban,” said U Tha Tun Hla, Chair of the Arakan National Party (ANP).
“I welcomed the release of political prisoners. In my view, this is a constructive test which will partly go to the peace path. This is a step towards peace. However, the step is still small,” Daw Saw Mra Razar Lin, Vice Chair of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) told the DMG.
The military council reformed the Union Election Commission (UEC) formed in the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government and plans to hold the election in 2023 under the Proportional Representation (PR) system.
Sent by Aung Htein (DMG)