Burma releases: Signs of hope?

Burma's ruling military junta has freed a top dissident - second only to Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The release of pro-democracy student leader Min Ko Naing and 4,000 other prisoners follows the disbanding of the country's National Intelligence Bureau.

Burma's junta has been in control of the country since 1962, despite Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) winning a landslide election in 1990.

The NLD said Min Ko Naing's release was an "important" gesture. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has also welcomed the releases.

Do you think the move is a significant step towards political reform in Burma? Is the release of Aung San Suu Kyi any more likely after these releases?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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The following comments reflect the balance of opinion we have received so far:

We have suffered far too long to take any sign as positive towards restoring democracy in my country. Tomorrow's wind might take a different direction. We hope the common sense will prevail among the ruling class.
U Tin Aung, Karachi, Pakistan

It is a step in the right direction but it could be purely a smoke screen to hide their real intentions John McGowan, Rome

I think it is a step in the right direction but it could be purely a smoke screen to hide their real intentions, which is the status quo, i.e. to hold on to power. If they were really serious about reform then they would release Aung San Suu Kyi who is the personification of this reform. The fact that they don't do this speaks volumes.
John McGowan, Rome, Italy

In Europe, the road to democracy has been a long, painful process lasting at least two thousand years, and we still appear to have a long way to go. Western expectations that other cultures can change from dictatorship to democracy by virtue of a single step are incomprehensible. However, let us hope that the fall of Khin Nyunt has created a space for a more humanitarian leadership in Burma, and a recognition that, only with open political debate can a country flourish.
Ron Callaby, Copenhagen, Denmark

The release is a good sign and it's very welcoming. However, to move towards a political reform is a long process and the Burmese Junta has a lot to prove. Aung San Suu Kyi should be released and other actions must be taken. This release of Min Ko Naing is excellent PR for Junta in the international arena, but what are the real implications for the Burmese people?
Alexandra Lindmark, London

The act of freeing political prisoners is a thing to welcome. I am more than happy for those wrongly jailed men and women and their families. I can't imagine how they might feel. I myself am so happy for them today. At the same time I pray that no one in the country will ever be arrested for their belief in the future. It's high time our country woke up and walked out into the world.
Mi Mi Khine, Japan

Free Aung San Suu Kyi. Then we may view the Burmese junta differently.
Ian Gavet, San Francisco, USA

The best hope for Burma is to release all the political prisoners and then start dialogue with all the political fronts Kyaw Min, Jerusalem, Israel

We Burmese welcome any amount of political prisoners released from Burmese prisons. Although it is hard to say whether it is the first step toward national reconciliations. The SPDC's lack of transparency has made it hard to interpret their latest move. There always should be hope for democracy among Burmese. I wonder if this latest move might lead to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. But it is still in uncertain. The best hope for Burma is to release all the political prisoners and then start dialogue with all the political fronts toward democracy.
Kyaw Min, Jerusalem, Israel

The military junta is playing a game with the international community. They free people and arrest them again, that is their game. They have been doing so for the past 40 years. Should it be a sign of hope? I don't think so.
Paulo Castro Garrido, Lisbon, Portugal

I'm very happy. I want to see more releases and more people granted the freedom to go wherever they want.
Mg Soe Shwe, Chennai, India

Min Ko Naing's release is just a ploy. He should never have been incarcerated at all and they even kept him for six years over the original sentence of 10 years.
DNA, Australia

Will Aung San Suu Kyi be released? It's too soon to tell. Information is still very thin on the ground in Myanmar (Burma). However, even if the ruling SPDC release all the 1,300 political prisoners they hold, there are many more suffering in fear in the country. In particular many ethnic minorities are living in fear of the Burmese army. But the road to reform is worth taking now. To release Aung San Suu Kyi would clearly be a good first step on that path. I hope Gen Than Shwe and friends are making a move to honour the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and will release all political prisoners and allow freedom of speech to blossom in their country.
Mike Edie, Cambridge, UK