YANGON, Myanmar, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Myanmar's Human Rights Commission urged the president to grant amnesty to more "prisoners of conscience" after an earlier general amnesty released 200.
The commission made the request in an "open letter" to President Thein Sein published in the government-owned and controlled New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The letter said "the commission is greatly heartened that the president on 11 October granted amnesty to 6,359 prisoners" who "do not pose a threat to the stability of the state and public tranquility."
Granting of the amnesty in October "generated greater interest in and recognition of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission," the letter said.
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The commission urged the government to go further and release 300 more prisoners who are among 2,000 designated by the United Nations secretary-general as prisoners of conscience.
But the Commission argues that, based on information obtained from Myanmar government ministries and foreign governments, only 500 of the 2,000 prisoners of conscience were in prison and 200 of the 500 had been granted amnesty in October.
"The release of the remaining prisoners, in the interest of national races, will not only enable them to participate in whatever way they can in the nation-building tasks but also will help promote national unity."
The letter stopped short of calling for the release to be immediate, but for the prisoners to be included "when a subsequent amnesty is granted."
The commission also called prisoners of conscience who won't be released to be transferred to prisons where it will be easier for their family to visit.
The letter, signed by Commission Chairman Win Mra, didn't name any prisoners that it would like to see released in the next amnesty, should it happen.
After the government set up the 15-member commission at the beginning of September, critics questioned whether it would be window dressing for the new civilian government of former military leaders seeking international legitimacy.
A report at the time in New Light of Myanmar said the commission was created "with a view to promoting and safeguarding fundamental rights of citizens described in the constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar."
All commission members are "retired" bureaucrats and academics. Members include a former ambassador, Kyaw Tint Swe, as the vice chairman. Members include retired law, labor and history professors, as well as a retired director general of the government's Forest Department.
The exact powers of the commission have not been disclosed.
The latest amnesty appeal by the commission comes after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week Myanmar is making progress toward reforms. But more needs to be done, including the release of political prisoners.
Clinton said a recent visit by U.S. diplomats found "real changes taking place on the ground."
The United States is ready to "support these early efforts at reform," she told reporters during an annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.
"We want to see the people of Burma (Myanmar) able to participate fully in the political life of their own country."
Washington also wants Myanmar to open up its political system to allow more parties such as the National League for Democracy, led by democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, to vie for power.
Suu Kyi won a 1990 general election, but the junta didn't recognize the results and she spent most of the next two decades under various forms of detention, including house arrest.
