GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- While Myanmar took an important step by releasing prisoners of conscience last week, it still needs to address ethnic divisions, a U.N. official said.
The government in Myanmar announced Friday it released several dissidents from prison. Among those freed was Min Ko Naing, who led a failed student uprising in 1988. The government said more than 650 prisoners would be released under the terms of a presidential pardon.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the United Nations' independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, welcomed the step as an important development in the effort to deepen Myanmar's transition to democracy.
The country in 2010 had its first general election in nearly 20 years and released Nobel Peace prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from a lengthy house arrest.
Last week, a truce was signed between government officials and the rebel Karen National Union in territory near the Thai border.
Quintana said from Geneva, Switzerland, that he hoped Myanmar's government would take additional steps by reaching out to other armed ethnic groups in the country.
"I renew my call on the government to develop a comprehensive plan to officially engage ethnic minority groups in an inclusive dialogue to resolve long-standing grievances and deep-rooted concerns," he said in a statement. "All parties to this dialogue must ensure that investigations and accountability for past gross and systematic human rights violations are on the agenda."
