Myanmar to free thousands of prisoners

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YANGON, Oct 11 (AFP): Myanmar announced a mass prisoner amnesty Tuesday, raising hope for the imminent release of hundreds of political detainees in what would be a major sign of change in the authoritarian state. More than 6,300 prisoners will be pardoned from Wednesday "on humanitarian grounds", state television announced, without saying whether political prisoners would be among them. The fate of the country's estimated 2,000 political detainees, who include pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers, has long been a top demand of Western nations that have imposed sanctions on Myanmar. The announcement came just hours after a government-appointed human rights panel called for a pardon for the country's "prisoners of conscience". The National Human Rights Commission said freeing detainees "who do not pose a threat to the stability of state" would allow them to participate in "nation-building", according to an official English-language newspaper. It noted that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and foreign governments were calling for "the release of what is referred to as 'prisoners of conscience'," in a rare official acknowledgement of their existence. Their release would be arguably the clearest sign yet of change under a new leadership that has reached out to critics including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed in November after seven straight years of detention.