Amnesty in Burma: real change or pleasing gesture: Releasing Prisoners!

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(CNN) -- Myanmar announced Tuesday it will grant amnesty to 6,300 prisoners on Wednesday, one in a series of recent moves that could help the isolated nation normalize relations with Western nations including the United States.

But is it really an authentic step toward greater freedoms in one of the world's most repressive states? Or is it another gesture by the nominally civilian government to appease critics?

Kurt Campbell, a U.S. assistant secretary of state, called it a "dramatic development" that could prompt Washington to consider improving ties. The United States imposes an embargo on arms and investment in Myanmar, once known as Burma before a military junta took over.

But if you ask Mark Farmaner, director of the London-based human rights group Burma Campaign UK, the prisoner amnesty is part of the "mood music" created to soothe the world. Obviously, he said, the amnesty was welcome, but it was hardly signaling the government's wish for democracy.

"What's very clear is that (President) Thein Sein is willing to make more concessions in order to get sanctions lifted and get more international legitimacy," Farmaner said.

The amnesty announcement in state-run media did not make it clear how many political detainees would be included.

Amnesty International has reported that more than 2,200 political prisoners are detained in poor conditions and subjected to torture and cruel treatment.