January 05, 2007	Friday	Zilhaj 14, 1427

YANGON, Jan 4: Some 50 political prisoners have been freed in Myanmar under an amnesty granted to 2,800 inmates to mark the nation’s Independence Day, the opposition National League for Democracy said on Thursday.

About 20 of those freed from prisons around the country are NLD members, party spokesman Nyan Win said, adding that another 30 were student leaders or other pro-democracy activists.

“We welcome the release, but feel sorry for those who really should be released,” including detained party leader Aung San Suu Kyi, he said.

Htun Yin, a 48-year-old NLD member who was freed on Wednesday after three years in the notorious Insein prison, told AFP that he remained committed to the struggle for democracy despite his ordeal behind bars.

“We are happy to be released, but we also have to try to get other political prisoners released, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.

“We will face many difficulties, but we are ready for this,” Htun Yin added. Htun Yin was serving a five-year sentence under Myanmar’s draconian Emergency Act, a sweeping law often used to jail government critics.

He was among about 10 freed prisoners who attended a ceremony at NLD’s headquarters in Yangon, along with 400 activists and diplomats, to mark the 59th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence from Britain.—AFP