Myanmar’s government has trimmed 2,082 names from its notorious blacklist, opening travelling privileges to roughly a third of the people officially barred from entering or leaving the country, an official said on Tuesday.
The move was the latest sign of change as President Thein Sein’s government implements reforms after decades of harsh military rule. It came a day after he announced a sweeping cabinet shake-up seen as an effort to remove hardliners opposed to reform in the country.
State media reported on Tuesday that the government had removed 2,082 names from its 6,165-person blacklist – meaning Myanmar’s blacklist now targets 4,083 people.
“These relaxations are in line with the country’s transformation,” Presidential spokesman Nay Zin Latt told reporters. He said more names would eventually be stricken and “only those who were put on the blacklist due to criminal and other economic misdemeanours will remain on the blacklist.”
Neither the spokesman nor the news reports gave details about the blacklist, which has included journalists, critics and a wide range of people that the former military junta deemed a threat to national security.
It blocks foreigners and Myanmese abroad from entering the country and also prohibits certain Myanmese nationals from leaving.