Burma agrees to prisoner amnesty
Authorities in Burma are set to release hundreds of prisoners in a new amnesty, in the latest step towards wholesale reform in the secretive south-east Asian state.
An announcement on Thursday has raised hopes that many of the political prisoners currently held in Burmese jails will be among the 600-odd detainees set to be freed.
William Hague, the British foreign secretary, repeatedly raised the issue of the political prisoners, who could number as many as 1,700, during a visit to Burma last week, as did Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, during her visit in December.
Burmese state radio and television said the prisoners would be released so they can "participate in the task of nation-building".
full: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/12/burma-agrees-prisoner-amnesty