YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s leader has ordered a new prisoner amnesty ahead of a historic visit to the country by President Obama on Monday.
State television said Sunday that President Thein Sein had ordered 66 detainees released, but it was not clear whether any political prisoners would be among them.
A Home Ministry official said that Thein Sein signed the amnesty order Friday, but the prisoners will be freed Monday. The presidential amnesty was the second announced this week.
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Myanmar students hold Myanmar and U.S. flags as they wait to welcome the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama at Yangon International Airport Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
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People holding a poster with portraits of U.S. President Barack Obama, left, Myanmar President Thein Sein, center, and Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as they wait to welcome the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama at Yangon International Airport Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)
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U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wave as they arrive at Yangon International Airport in Yangon, Myanmar, on Air Force One, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012. This is the first visit to Myanmar by a sitting U.S. president. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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