DHAKA: Myanmar on Thursday freed from jail more than a dozen students detained this week in a violent crackdown in which riot police beat protesters with batons and arrested 127 people after a lengthy standoff.

Tuesday’s crackdown in the town of Letpadan, about 140km north of Yangon, followed a stand-off of more than a week with security forces who blocked the students from marching to the commercial capital to protest against an education bill they said would stifle academic freedom.

At least 14 students were freed from a prison in Letpadan on Thursday and the government plans to release a total of 27, said a district official who requested anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

‘As students, we are not demanding power; we are just demanding to change the education law,’ said one protester Yin Mon Mon Aung. ‘I also want to say to police not to use violence against students’, he told the media after his release.

Police had interrogated those arrested to determine if they were ‘real students’ and authorities were contacting their parents ‘to hand them over properly’, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

‘However, action will be taken against those who commit criminal acts, instigate instability and lead the protests behind the scene,’ it added.

BDST: 2114 HRS, MAR 12, 2015