Myanmar began releasing more than 8,000 prisoners on Tuesday on humanitarian grounds under a presidential pardon, with most of those being released convicted of drug offences but with 36 people classified as political prisoners among them. The pardon, signed by newly elected President Win Myint, coincides with Myanmar’s traditional new year celebrations and was aimed at promoting peace and the joy of the people, his office said in a statement. Two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, jailed in Myanmar were not included in the amnesty, according to Min Tun Soe, spokesman of Myanmar Prisons Department, citing ongoing legal proceedings against them.