Myanmar Prez signs pardon for 83 political prisoners

Myanmar President Htin Kyaw has signed a pardon for 83 prisoners, who will be freed by amnesty on the first day of the country's New Year.

It was, however, not immediately clear if the amnesty included political prisoners.

The pardon was intended to 'make people feel happy and peaceful, and promote national reconciliation during the New Year', reports ABC online.

National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest for 15 years, pledged in a statement earlier this month to make releasing prisoners of conscience a priority of her administration.

Since the party took power, charges have been dropped against nearly 200 political activists, including students who spent over a year in jail over an education protest, according to the police.

The jailing of dissidents was among the junta's many repressive policies that helped garner global support for Suu Kyi's democracy struggle.

Watchdog groups in Myanmar say there are still hundreds of activists facing trial or being held in the country's notorious prisons.

Many were arrested under the quasi-civilian government that stepped down last month after five years of transitioning the country from junta rule.