YANGON, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- The Myanmar government Friday
released 25 more female detainees on humanitarian grounds, an
official Information Sheet said here.
   All of the detainees, who are either pregnant or with young
children and were incarcerated for various criminal activities,
were freed from various "correctional facilities," the information
sheet said.
   They were a new batch in a series since the government granted
amnesty to criminal offenders by releasing them since February 22
this year and the number of such released detainees has reached
272.
   In February this year, United Nations Human Rights Envoy to
Myanmar Paulo Sergio Pinheiro visited the country for 10 days, and
three days after the end of his trip, the Myanmar government
started releasing criminal offenders on humanitarian grounds.
   Meanwhile, the government also set free five more members of
the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) on Friday from
various "correctional institutions," according to the information
sheet.
   They are identified as U Waine San, U Thaung Sein, U Tun Kyaing,
U Aung Than Nyunt and U Tin Aung.
   So far, the total number of the freed NLD members and its
activists since January 2001 has come to 237.  Enditem