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.