Myanmar says it will free 6,300 prisoners

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The Myanmar government would offer amnesty to some 6,300 prisoners, state media said Tuesday but critics said they had doubts.

CNN reported it was not clear if those to be released Wednesday would include political detainees, the release of whom the United States and other critics of Myanmar's decades-long military rule have been demanding.

Myanmar was formerly called Burma.

The amnesty announcement reportedly came after a call by the government-appointed National Human Rights Commission to pardon "prisoners of conscience."

CNN reported the commission was appointed last month but some of its members had previously defended past Myanmar's human rights record.

The New York Times reported there was no mention of prisoners of conscience in the official announcement, adding there are an estimate 2,100 political prisoners currently in detention.

However, there have been changes in the country since elections last November, which led to the appointment of a military-backed civilian government.

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been held under house arrest for years before being freed, has since met with new President Thein Sein. Last month, Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin met with U.S. officials in Washington.

Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said Monday there have been dramatic developments in Myanmar and the United States is watching carefully, prepared for a new chapter in relations.

Late last month, President Thein Sein suspended construction on a $3.6 billion China-led hydroelectric project, which had been opposed by Suu Kyi and environmental groups.