Junta releases Suu Kyi's cousin

Junta releases Suu Kyi's cousin

YANGON (AFP): Myanmar's military regime Monday released the
cousin of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from jail, sources
said, in the latest sign of progress in talks between the
opposition and the junta.

Aye Win, a close aide to the Nobel peace laureate, was allowed
to leave Yangon's notorious Insein prison Monday after completing
a five-year sentence, a family member said.

Political prisoners are not routinely released at the end of
their sentence, but in the last few weeks the junta has allowed
dozens of members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) to
leave the jails and government guesthouses where they were
detained.

On Thursday it freed nine more senior party members, bringing
to 26 the number of opposition MPs elected in the disallowed 1990
ballot who have been given their liberty.

The military government has said the concessions reflect
progress in talks with Aung San Suu Kyi which began last October,
and which have raised hopes that a national reconciliation
process may soon get under way.