US welcomes Myanmar's decision to release political prisoners

The US today welcomed Myanmar's decision to release all political prisoners and asked it to do so without setting any conditions besides calling on the Southeast Asian nation to desist from any further arrests.
"We welcome President Thein Sein's July 15th speech in London in which he declared that all remaining political prisoners will be released by the end of 2013," State Department spokesperson Patrick Ventrell said.
"We encourage the government to continue to work expeditiously through the political prisoner review committee to release all political prisoners unconditionally and to remove conditions placed on those released to date," Ventrell told reporters at his daily news conference.

The spokesperson also called on the government in Myanmar to prevent arrest of new political prisoners and undertake comprehensive legal reform to avoid such happenings in the future.
"So broadly speaking, we welcome President Thein Sein's comments and his commitment to promoting a multicultural, multi-faith nation and seeking a zero tolerance approach to violence," he said.
According to civil society groups, there are an estimated 200 political prisoners still in custody but Ventrell said he did not have a "US government assessment one way or another.