More than 3,000 prisoners are being released by Myanmar’s military regime, including 98 foreign nationals, on the occasion of New Year’s Eve, which is celebrated today Monday in the country.

This news became known through an announcement by the military regime which was published in pro-military channels on Telegram.

The military government has imprisoned thousands of anti-regime and pro-democracy activists since coming to power in 2021 and has suppressed violent demonstrations, causing an international outcry.

Lt. Gen. Aung Lin Due, the junta’s Deputy Minister, said in a statement that the amnesty was a celebration of Myanmar’s New Year to bring joy to the people and ease humanitarian concerns.

A spokesman for the junta did not respond to a request for comment and it was not clear who was affected by the amnesty granted today.

Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate and key figure of the resistance to the military regime, is serving a 33-year prison sentence after a marathon of trials that were internationally condemned as a parody.

The junta has also arrested other key members of Suu Kyi’s government, which was ousted by the military in a 2021 coup.

At least 17,460 people are still being detained and 3,240 have been killed by the junta, according to the Political Prisoners’ Aid Association.

The junta periodically grants amnesty to prisoners but the number for 2023 and 2022 is only a fraction of the 23,000 released on the same Buddhist holiday in 2021.

Human rights organizations and many leaders from around the world have repeatedly called on the junta to release all political prisoners.

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