Myanmar Releases Thousands of Prisoners in Mass Amnesty, Including UK Ambassador

The Myanmar military junta which took power on February 1st, 2021 has just announced it is releasing 6,000 thousand political prisoners and four foreign nationals including UK Ambassador Vicky Bowman who was sentenced to one year in prison by the junta on September 2nd, 2022..She was the ambassador to Mynamar from 2002-2006 and continued to live there with her husband, who was also arrested for supposedly breaking immigration laws. Myanmar military authorities alleged the address Bowman had registered to her visa did not match her residence..The two other foreign nationals to be released are NLD economic advisor Sean Turnell and Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota. Kubota is expected to return to Japan on November 17th, 2022..This announcement was made by the Irrawaddy which was notified by Junta forces. They will reportedly be released today to commemorate Myanmar National Day..The military junta, under Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has been under constant pressure to meet the ASEAN Five Point Consensus which requires Myanmar to:.First, there shall be immediate cessation of violence in Myanmarand all parties shall exercise utmost restraint.Second, constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shallcommence to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people.Third, a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediationof the dialogue process, with the assistance of the SecretaryGeneral of ASEAN.Fourth, ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through theAHA Centre.Fifth, the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meetwith all parties concerned..However, since taking power almost two years ago, the junta has waged a bloody war against more than 49 ethnic groups in the country, in what is now considered the world's longest-running civil war which began after the British left Burma at the end of WWII. Malaysia was the first ASEAN country to officially address the junta, dubbed the State Administration Council (SAC) this last July, but few countries have had official diplomatic channels with them, besides China who openly supplies them with arms and support.