Among those who walked free were 88 Generation leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi and several of their colleagues. Another very notable name was Shan leader Hkun Htoon Oo who had served nearly seven years of a 91-year jail sentence.
Even a jailed ex-prime minister was freed—former spy chief Gen. Khin Nyunt who had been under house arrest since late 2004 when he was ousted from office in a power struggle by Than Shwe.
Such an amnesty is no stranger to some of the activists freed today. This was the third time Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi have been released from prison. They were freed in 2005 after each had spent nearly 15 years in jail. Dedicated to their cause of democracy, they refused to be silenced, and found themselves back behind bars again in 2006 and 2007.
It must always be remembered that their political activities injected political vibrancy into an otherwise dormant political arena in the absence of Aung San Suu Kyi who was then under house arrest.
The major question currently confronting these two dissidents is whether to follow Suu Kyi and participate in formal parliamentary politics or to continue playing the role of informal activists outside mainstream politics.
It is almost certain that Suu Kyi will attempt to persuade many of the dissidents freed from jail today to participate in the formal political arena.
The clear results of today's prisoner release can be defined as: putting greater pressure on the US-led Western bloc to dramatically relax or lift punitive economic sanctions on Burma; and a greater push on Naypyidaw to accelerate its process of reform or otherwise face a new wave of dissent led by national heroes such as Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi.
Activists inside Burma are watching these scenarios unfold with caution. Many who have followed Suu Kyi's lead over the past few months in favor of cooperation with Thein Sein's government can now look to the alternative strategies of Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, who are described by many people in the street as “our leaders.”
Just after his release from prison this morning, Min Ko Naing, 49, said he will support Suu Kyi's political work, but exhibited a reluctance to commit himself to joining a political party.
“I have no thought about party politics,” he told reporters soon after he emerged from Thayet Prison in Magwe Division. “But politics should not be limited to party activities. We can work outside party politics—a field I have never been involved with,” he said.
He added that today heralds “the return of roaring peacocks,” in reference to the most popular symbol traditionally sported by Burmese political movements.
As Min Ko Naing crossed the Irrawaddy River, hundreds of local people—some of whom were in boats—waved and shouted to him in jubilation. He waved back, then went to the bus station to travel home to his family in Rangoon.
Having had a chance to read local news journals in prison, many freed dissidents appear somewhat familiar with the current political landscape and expressed a degree of optimism about the reforms initiated by the new government.
“I think the current changes are movements in the right direction,” said Hkun Htoo Oo, speaking to The Irrawaddy. “If we're to keep going down this path with determination, then it should be all right. I am so glad about this situation.”
It should be remembered, however, that the government move to release political prisoners was a somewhat belated decision given that it has been in office for nearly a year. Thein Sein's administration has clearly shown reluctance to take this step, being apprehensive of any act that would impact the still fragile political system dominated by former army generals.
That's why it released the dissidents on the condition of Section 401 of Burma's Criminal Procedure Code, a mechanism to provide suspended sentences to jailed political activists, but which states that they can be re-arrested and forced to serve their time if they resume political activities that infringe on existing laws.
However, if the program of reforms continues at its current rate, today's freed dissidents may never again have to spend another night in a damp crowded prison cell.
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