Reformation efforts in Myanmar were undertaken starting with the release of future parliamentary leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest in November 2010. Foremost among these reforms was an amnesty, which over the next year caused the release of thousands of prisoners, many of them jailed for political reasons. There was also a transfer of power from the military junta that ruled at the time of Ms. Suu Kyi's release to a nominally civilian democracy with military backing. This new regime affirmed the rights of citizens to protest peacefully and to organize labor unions, and in some cases contributed to greater government transparency. This reformation government also halted the military's efforts against several ethnic groups within Myanmar, resulting in either full truce agreements or, at the least, a ceasefire between forces.