Burmese government releases 12,000 prisoners in new image-boosting operation

General Min Aung Hlaing announced the gesture for National Farmers' Day, but Aung San Suu Kyi is not among them and thousands of people remain in prison. The army also continued to carry out bombings against civilians. The initiative comes at a time of internal tensions within the junta and while ASEAN remains divided on how to handle the Burmese crisis.

Yangon (AsiaNews) - The head of the Burmese military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, announced on 2 March the release of more than 12,000 prisoners on National Farmers' Day. Once again, while state media presented the amnesty as a gesture of clemency, human rights defenders denounced it as a political move aimed solely at improving the regime's image abroad. Meanwhile, the Burmese army continues to carry out bombings and military operations against civilians.

The member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have cautiously welcomed the news: the regional bloc has long been seeking a diplomatic channel to reopen dialogue with Naypyidaw, but the organisation has not issued a unified statement on the amnesty, leaving the responsibility to individual members. Some member states have expressed cautious appreciation, while others have chosen to remain silent, once again highlighting the internal divisions within the bloc.

During the day, journalists, activists and student leaders were released, while democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains in prison. She was arrested, along with other government representatives, during the coup in February 2021 and sentenced to 27 years in prison on trumped-up charges.

According to verified data from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 30,500 people have been arrested in the last five years of civil war, of whom more than 22,800 are still in detention.

The timing of the announcement has also fuelled speculation about the war in the Middle East: the Burmese regime is largely dependent on Iranian oil, which, as some investigations have shown, is smuggled in violation of sanctions via “ghost ships”.

Some observers therefore believe that Min Aung Hlaing is trying to recalibrate his international stance to limit possible diplomatic pressure from US President Donald Trump.

In the meantime, however, the Burmese army has continued its bombing campaign. The most serious incident occurred in Rakhine State: in recent days, the junta's bombs hit a bus station along a main road, killing at least 30 civilians. According to information verified by the Karen Human Rights Group, the Free Burma Rangers and independent journalists, in the same 24-hour period, the army launched air strikes in at least six municipalities in the Sagaing region and in Shan, Kayah and Karen states.

‘He opened the prison gates with one hand and gave the order to bomb with the other,’ commented a Burmese analyst who asked to remain anonymous. ‘This is not about reforms, but a charade.’

The announcement of the amnesty also coincides with a period of intense internal political tension within the junta. After the elections, which were won (as expected) by the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, Min Aung Hlaing authorised the creation of a new institutional body, the Union Consultative Council, which, according to some analysts, could allow the general to maintain executive control without formally assuming the position of civilian head of government.

At the same time, a major reshuffle was carried out among the military and government leadership: Min Aung Hlaing replaced officials and senior officers with younger figures loyal to his leadership. This is not a democratic transition, but the formalisation of an increasingly personalised system of power, with the aim of consolidating his position.