Myanmar to free 452 political prisoners before Barack visit
16 Nov 2012 5:46 AM IST
Myanmar is set to free hundreds of prisoners on Thursday, officials said, just days ahead of a landmark visit by US President Barack Obama to a country emerging from decades of military rule.
Relatives of the scores of political detainees still languishing in jails were waiting anxiously to learn whether they would be among those released. A prison department official said 452 prisoners would walk free on Thursday morning.
‘There are some foreigners included in the amnesty,’ he added, speaking on condition of anonymity, without giving details of their nationalities. The planned release was also announced in state media.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has already freed hundreds of political prisoners incarcerated by the former junta as part of reforms that have led to a dramatic thaw in relations between the former pariah nation and the West.
Obama will on Monday become the first sitting US president ever to visit Myanmar.
Relatives of the scores of political detainees still languishing in jails were waiting anxiously to learn whether they would be among those released. A prison department official said 452 prisoners would walk free on Thursday morning.
‘There are some foreigners included in the amnesty,’ he added, speaking on condition of anonymity, without giving details of their nationalities. The planned release was also announced in state media.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has already freed hundreds of political prisoners incarcerated by the former junta as part of reforms that have led to a dramatic thaw in relations between the former pariah nation and the West.
Obama will on Monday become the first sitting US president ever to visit Myanmar.
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