Myanmar frees 10,000 prisoners before parliament opens

Myanmar’s military government has pardoned more than 10,000 prisoners in a sweeping amnesty, just weeks before a new parliament is due to convene for the first time in over five years.

State media reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing ordered the release of 10,162 inmates on Monday to mark Peasants’ Day, a national holiday honouring farmers. Among them were more than 7,300 people convicted under counterterrorism laws, legislation widely criticised for being used to silence political opponents, journalists and activists since the 2021 coup.

A separate statement said nearly 12,500 people facing trial or in hiding under the same laws would see their cases dropped. Ten foreign nationals are also set to be released and deported.

Mass pardons on public holidays are not unusual in Myanmar, but the timing of this move is striking. It comes just two weeks before parliament is scheduled to sit following elections in January, polls dismissed by critics as neither free nor fair. The dominant pro-military party secured a walkover victory, while Aung San Suu Kyi’s party was dissolved and the Nobel laureate herself remains behind bars, serving a 27-year sentence.

Outside Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, an AFP journalist witnessed around 300 inmates being bussed out on Monday morning, greeted by relatives clutching flowers and placards. Officials said the releases were granted “on humanitarian grounds” and to ease public concerns.

Rights groups, however, remain sceptical. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates more than 22,800 political detainees are still held across the country. Analysts suggest the amnesty is part of a broader attempt by the junta to soften its image ahead of a transition to a nominally civilian government.

With parliament set to elect a president in early April, Min Aung Hlaing has not ruled out taking the role himself. For many observers, the mass release of prisoners is less a gesture of reconciliation than a calculated move to bolster the military’s grip on power while projecting a veneer of legitimacy.

-2026-03-03