Myanmar's President Thein Sein waves as he arrives at Yangon International Airport after returning from the U.S. May 22, 2013. 
 
 YANGONMyanmar's government is releasing another 73 political prisoners and more could be freed in coming months to honor a commitment made by the president during a recent trip to Europe, a member of a government body looking into the process said on Tuesday. 
 
 President Thein Sein, a former general now heading a quasi-civilian government, has pushed through a series of political and economic reforms since a military government stepped aside in 2011. 
 
 He has freed hundreds of political detainees and promised in a speech in Britain last week to free all those still in prison by the end of this year. 
 
 "A total of 73 political prisoners are being released from various detention centers today," Hla Maung Shwe, a member of the Committee to Scrutinise Remaining Political Prisoners, told Reuters. 
 
 "The total number of remaining political prisoners has now dropped to lower than 100 for the first time in many years." 
 
 The government, embassies and other groups have different figures for the number of political detainees. 
 
 The military junta, and even Thein Sein's government in the past, rejected the term, but he set up the committee to examine the issue and decide which prisoners were inside for criminal acts and those there for political reasons. 
 
 The 19-member committee comprises 10 former political prisoners, six people appointed by the government and three mediators, including Hla Maung Shwe. 
 
 "The committee meets once a month and we expect the remaining political prisoners will be freed by the end of this year as the president said during his recent visit to Europe," Hla Maung Shwe added. 
 
 An official at the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society, a pro-democracy activist group, confirmed the release of several dozen political prisoners, but said the group was still collecting names. 
 
 (Editing by Alan Raybould and Ron Popeski) ||||| The release of roughly 2,000 political detainees including pro-democracy campaigners, journalists, monks and lawyers, has long been a key demand of Western powers that have imposed sanctions on the country also known as Burma . 
 
 The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said at least 70 political detainees were being freed. 
 
 "I think we will see some more," said spokesman Aung Khaing Min. 
 
 The prominent satirist and vocal government critic Zarganar, who goes by one name, was among those released as part of a pardon of more than 6,300 prisoners by the new nominally civilian leadership, his sister-in-law said. 
 
 The dissident was arrested in 2008 after organising deliveries of aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis – which left 138,000 people dead or missing – and sentenced to 59 years' imprisonment, later reduced to 35 years. 
 
 Several hundred prisoners were being released from Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison, including student activist Aung Kyaw Soe, who was arrested in 1990 and sentenced to death, later reduced to life in prison. 
 
 "I was released after serving 21 years and two days. I am glad that I was freed but I am also sorry for the people who are still inside the prison," he said outside the jail gates. 
 
 Many of Burma's political prisoners were sentenced to decades in jail and have endured "torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment", according to rights group Amnesty International. 
 
 A mass pardon of dissidents would be arguably the clearest sign yet of change under a new government that has reached out to critics including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed in November. 
 
 State television announced on Tuesday that more than 6,300 elderly, sick, disabled or well-behaved prisoners would be granted an amnesty from Wednesday "on humanitarian grounds". 
 
 It said freeing detainees would allow them to "help to build a new nation". 
 
 President Thein Sein, a former general and senior junta figure, has surprised critics by signalling a series of political reforms since taking power following a controversial election last November. 
 
 He has been applauded by international observers for holding direct talks with Suu Kyi, who spent most of the past two decades locked up by the junta. 
 
 In a rare concession to public opinion in the authoritarian nation, the government last month suspended construction of a controversial mega-dam, risking the anger of traditional ally China, which is backing the project. 
 
 A top US official, Kurt Campbell, on Monday hailed "dramatic developments" in Burma including what he described as "very consequential dialogue" between the Nobel Peace Prize winner and the leadership. 
 
 He hinted that concrete moves towards democracy by Burma could lead to an easing of sanctions. 
 
 "We will match their steps with comparable steps," he said. 
 
 The new regime, which came to power after elections held a few days before Suu Kyi's release, appears keen to improve its image and in August held the first talks between her and Thein Sein. 
 
 Ms Suu Kyi, whose party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power, has said she believes Thein Sein genuinely wants to carry out reforms, but cautioned it was too soon to say whether he would succeed.
– Following up on a promise made while in Europe, Burma's president is reportedly setting 73 political prisoners free today, adding to hundreds already let go. "The total number of remaining political prisoners has now dropped to lower than 100 for the first time in many years," says an official. President Thein Sein has pledged to release all the country's political prisoners by year's end. Different organizations offer different figures as to how many remain, Reuters notes; the AP puts the number at around 200 before today's releases, with 69 released today, according to an official. The country has a 19-member committee to determine which prisoners are in jail over politics and which have committed non-political crimes. The committee includes 10 ex-political prisoners. But activists say the president is releasing people too slowly and for image reasons—and protesters are still getting arrested. "It's important to remember that many still remain in prison and all the repressive laws that put them there are still in place," notes one.