Albanese Meets With Australian Economist Released by Myanmar's Military Junta

Economist Sean Turnell was greeted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Thursday, December 1, two weeks after Myanmar’s military junta released him from prison.

Turnell, who was an economic adviser to Myanmar’s democratically-elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was arrested when the military seized power in 2021. Aung San Suu Kyi remains in custody.

In a statement, Myanmar’s military government said Turnell and three other foreigners were released “on humanitarian grounds … with the aim of maintaining friendly relationships with their respective countries.”

Footage released by the Australian prime minister’s office shows Albanese greeting Turnell and his wife, during which Turnell says, “It’s so good to be here.”

Turnell was also welcomed by members of Australia’s House of Representatives, where MPs gave praise to the freed economist, the Canberra Times reported.

In a Facebook post, Albanese said: “Two weeks ago, Sean Turnell was in a jail in Myanmar. Today we walked into the House of Representatives together. After two years of unjust incarceration, Sean’s humility shines through. He displays the absolute best of the Australian spirit – an example to us all.” Credit: Prime Minister of Australia via Storyful

Video transcript

- Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

[INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here. Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here. Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here. Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here. Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here. Really good.

- Yeah. Hello. So pleased to meet you.

- [INAUDIBLE]

- So pleased to meet you.

- It's so good to be here. It's so good to be here.