Myanmar reduces prisoners\' sentences

Myanmar is set to reduce prison sentences for some inmates, although the exact number remains unknown, as well as whether political prisoners will be included. A brief report in the state-run New Light of Myanmar reprinted a decree by President Thein Sein, a former senior junta member, stating the reductions are to celebrate Independence Day -- the 64th anniversary of liberation from British colonial rule. Sein signed the decree \"for the sake of state peace and stability, the rule of law, national consolidation and on humanitarian grounds,\" the report said. The decree says death sentences will be commuted to life imprisonment and jail terms of more than 30 years will be reduced to 30 years. Sentences between 20 and 30 years will be reduced to 20 years and sentences shorter than 20 years will be cut by one-quarter. Under the terms, some prisoners could be released. The announcement in New Light comes after indications of releases last week by Aung Ko, chairman of the judicial and legal affairs committee of the lower house, and Railways Minister Aung Min, Railways who also heads peace talks with ethnic minority groups fighting the government in remote areas. More sentence reductions and possible prisoner releases could come on Union Day -- Feb. 1 -- they said. The latest sentence reductions come after a major general prisoner amnesty in October that included the release of up to 200 political prisoners among some 6,000 inmates overall released. But many more political prisoners remain in jail, the United Nations says, as well as the country\'s Human Rights Commission that the government created last year. The junta, which governed the country for most of the years since independence, imprisoned thousands of political dissidents. They included high-profile democracy activists such as the 1990 national election winner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who served several sentences. Western governments consider the release of political prisoners essential for improved relations with Myanmar, which for years was a political outcast because of its military governments. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing in Washington that more needs to be done to release political prisoners, as noted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who visited Myanmar in December. \"We wanted to see this as soon as possible,\" said Nuland. \"We didn\'t set any timeline on it but we made clear that it was one of the vital steps before which it would be difficult for us to make significantly more steps toward normalization on our own side.\" Some Myanmar activists say the latest sentence reductions will mean nothing for political prisoners. Because many are serving sentences between 30 and 65 years, the amnesty will do little to shorten their stay jail, a former prisoner said in a report by Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Myat San, 45, was a student leader in 1992 when he was jailed for 18 years for being a student leader. In March 2010 he completed his sentence and was released. The latest reduction could be a strategy by the government to \"trick the West and trick Aung San Suu Kyi,\" he told RNW. \"I am suspicious of the government,\" he said. \"For me, there will be no real good news, no real positive change, till all political prisoners are out. The government is making empty promises just to get support from the West.\"