Myanmar's government is preparing to release prisoners under an amnesty, for the second time in just over a month, "very soon" and more political detainees should be among them, a senior official said on Sunday.
Details of the amnesty would become clear within two days, the official at the interior ministry told Reuters, and political detainees, sometimes called "prisoners of conscience", would be included.
"Of course, those referred to as prisoners of conscience will be released very, very soon and the rest of them will be moved to the detention centres close to their families," said the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
"Just wait for a day or two to see the details,", he added, declining to say whether prominent activists would be among those who are freed.
Myanmar new civilian government, which took office on March 30, freed about 230 political detainees in a general amnesty on October 12, a move welcomed by the West as sign that the former generals in charge might start to ease their strict control of the country after five decades of military rule.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday there were signs that Myanmar was making "real changes" and if all political prisoners were freed and reforms introduced, the United States was willing to become its "partner".
If the amnesty goes ahead in the next two days, it would coincide with the start of an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
It would strengthen Myanmar's case for taking the rotating ASEAN presidency in 2014, two years ahead of schedule. Analysts say hosting the summit would help to satisfy the government's craving for legitimacy and help it present a case for concrete assistance from international financial institutions to overhaul the resource-rich country's long-stagnant economy.
It also comes as an open letter to President Thein Sein was published in state-controlled newspapers on Sunday, calling for political prisoners to be freed. Such newspapers are tightly controlled by the government and have for decades served as mouthpieces for the military junta.
The letter, from the chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, Win Mra, said that there were about 500 political prisoners who should all be freed. Those who could not be released should be transferred to facilities close to their families, he said.