By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar

Almost 140 political detainees have so far been unconditionally freed in Myanmar, with the new government working to grant an amnesty to those remaining in detention once the country's new year festival is over.

The ministry of information said in a website statement Saturday that a total of 138 political prisoners, activists and student protesters had been released from detention Friday, a day before the long holiday began.

The remaining political prisoners will be released after the Thingyan holiday (April 20), it added.

A spokesperson for the president's office told Anadolu Agency on Friday that the government was working to free all political detainees over the New Year break.

“We are working with the home affairs ministry to release the political prisoners who are still behind bars, and with the local authority and courts to close the cases against political activists and student protesters,” Zaw Htay said.

He warned, however, that it would take time.

“We will keep working on it during the Thingyan New Year holidays."

The ministry said that a total of 2178 inmates who had already served their jail terms were released from prison across the country Friday.

Of the 138 released political detainees, 69 were student protesters and other supporters who had been detained for more than one year for a protest calling for academic freedoms.

The students were arrested in March last year after police cracked on down on a march from the country's second largest city of Mandalay to the commercial capital of Yangon to call for the decentralization and democratization of the National Education Law.

Others freed Friday from Insein prison in Yangon included three female leaders from the Peace and Open Society, a group led by renowned 88 Generation students (a pro-democracy movement known for its activism against previous military juntas).

The releases occurred just one day after Aung San Suu Kyi said that her new National League for Democracy (NLD) government was working on ways to grant amnesty to political prisoners and activists awaiting trial during Thingyan.

An accompanying statement called the release of prisoners of conscience a priority, saying that the NLD's wide margin of victory in the Nov. 8 elections signified that the decision had been re-affirmed by the will of the people.

The NLD has long advocated for political prisoners.

On Friday evening, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners -- which tracks the plight of jailed dissidents in Myanmar -- updated the number of political detainees in the Southeast Asian country to 535, around 121 of whom it said have been convicted and are serving prison sentences.