Prison amnesties have been held in the past to mark Sep 18, 1988, the day that General Saw Maung seized power and set up the State Law and Order Restoration Council, the military regime that thereafter cracked down on mass pro-democracy demonstrations, leaving an estimated 3,000 people dead.

Among the political prisoners released from Insein Friday was former student activist Win Myint, 56, who was arrested 21 years ago for participating in the Aug 8, 1988 mass anti-military demonstration.

Win Myint had four months to go on his sentence before being granted an amnesty.

Another political prisoner was Than Than Htay, 42, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) from Yangon.

She was arrested in June 2004.

'I feel happy and I will continue to work in political affairs,' Than Than said.

Myanmar has been under a military dictatorship since 1962. Although it allowed an election in 1990, it has ignored the landslide victory of the NLD led by Suu Kyi in the polls for the past 19 years.

A new election is planned in 2010, which most observers fear will be neither free nor fair nor able to get the military out of politics.