\Myanmar’s president has pardoned at least 20 political prisoners just ahead of a historic visit to the United States that will highlight the two sides’ improved relations brought about by the former pariah nation’s democratic reforms.
State media reported Saturday that 23 prisoners were freed, though it did not call them political offenders. Ye Aung, a member of the government’s political prisoner scrutiny committee, said at least 20 political detainees were freed Friday.
President Thein Sein will visit the White House on Monday, the first state visit by a Myanmar leader in almost 47 years.
The US applied sanctions against Myanmar’s previous military regime for its poor human rights record. Thein Sein has implemented several reforms since his election in 2010, including freeing hundreds of political prisoners. The US in turn eased most sanctions. In November, Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Myanmar.
It has become a pattern for prison amnesties to coincide with high-profile international or regional meetings as a way of highlighting the Myanmar government’s benevolent policies. Thein Sein pardoned 93 prisoners, including at least 59 political detainees, in April, a day after the European Union lifted sanctions against the Southeast Asian nation.
The release of political detainees in Myanmar has been a key concern of the United States, and Washington wants all of the country’s political prisoners freed.
A group campaigning for democracy in Myanmar – which is also known by its old name, Burma — accuses Thein Sein’s government of using political prisoners for public relations purposes.
