Myanmar: Vow to Free 3,073 Prisoners

President Thein Sein pledged on Tuesday to release thousands of prisoners for the sake of “peace and stability.” The State Department welcomed the move, which came a month before Myanmar is to host the East Asia Summit, which President Obama and other world leaders are expected to attend. But its spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, urged the release of remaining political prisoners, who were apparently not included in a list of 3,073 prisoners pardoned by Mr. Thein Sein. Virtually all were believed to have been jailed for ordinary crimes. Ms. Psaki estimated that 30 to 40 political prisoners were still incarcerated, saying the government had released about 1,300 political prisoners since undertaking political reforms in 2011.