Burma's military government has been releasing more political prisoners today (Thursday) -- most of them members of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy party.
A government statement says the prisoners were being freed from various prisons nationwide. It is not clear how many had been released, although Burma previously stated that 115 inmates would be freed. That would be the largest single release since the military government began reconciliation talks with the opposition in 2000.
Today's (Thursday's) prisoner release comes after the UN special envoy for Burma expressed concern that attempts to jump start the reconciliation talks were going nowhere.
UN envoy Razali Ismail concluded five days of talks with Burmese military and opposition leaders last week. He said he was disappointed that there have been no substantive negotiations between the two sides. Still, Mr. Razali pledged to continue his mediation efforts.
Information for this report is provided by AP and AFP.