LONDON -- Amnesty International on Tuesday praised Myanmar's release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi but said extrajudicial killings, political imprisonment and forced labor continued in the military-run state.

"The May 6 release of pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi after 19 months under de facto house arrest represented a very positive development in the human rights situation in Myanmar," the London-based rights group said in its annual report.

But it highlighted the regime's continued poor human rights record and called for continued international pressure on the junta, AFP reported.

"Amnesty International urged the International Community to continue to encourage the Myanmar government to make further improvements," it said.

The report said that while prison conditions were believed to have improved over the past year, some 1,600 political prisoners remained in prison by the end of 2001.

They included hundreds of members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide election victory 12 years ago monday but was barred from assuming power.

"Extrajudicial executions and forced labor continued to be reported in the ethnic minority states, particularly Shan and Kayin states," the report said.

"Death from exhaustion and lack of medical care continued to be reported," it said of prisoners who were often sent to work in labor camps.

The ruling state peace and development council's 2000 prohibition of forced labor was reinforced last year, amnesty cited the International Labor Organization as saying.

But it also warned that "forced labor of civilians was continuing, particularly near military camps, in spite of the SPDC's new decree." Some 52 prisoners remained behind bars despite completing their prison sentences, it added.

It also noted that at least 64 political prisoners had died in custody since 1988, the year massive student demonstrations were staged across the country demanding an end to military rule in place since 1962.