Junta pardons 10,000 prisoners to mark 76th year since British rule

Free at last: Released prisoners waving to relatives aboard a bus outside Insein prison in Yangon. — AFP

THE country’s military government pardoned nearly 10,000 prisoners to mark the 76th anniversary of gaining independence from Britain, but it wasn’t immediately clear if any of those released included the thousands of political detainees jailed for opposing army rule.

The head of Myanmar ’s military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, pardoned 9,652 prisoners to mark the holiday yesterday, reported state-run MRTV.