A four-year-long state of emergency has been lifted in Arakan State the day before Burma’s new government took power, leading to calls for restrictions on ethnic Rohingya to also be lifted. On 29 March 2016, the last day of President U Thein Sein’s administration, emerge... Read more ►

YANGON (Myanmar Now) – Shortly after newly elected President Htin Kyaw completed a swearing-in ceremony in Myanmar’s parliament on Wednesday morning, the country’s new leader, a ‘proxy’ of National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, headed to the Pre... Read more ►

Mi Kayin villagers in Hpa-an Township held a prayer service for the protection of their land and natural resources threatened by the proposed cement plant on March 29, 2016. The villagers gathered at the base of Mi Kayin Mountain for the public prayer service after a recentl... Read more ►

The new government will have to address numerous junta-era land grabs, such as in Ayeyawaddy Region’s Pantanaw Township where hundreds of farmers lost land. PANTANAW, Ayeyarwady Region (Myanmar Now) – As darkness fell in Khanwebo on the night of February 3, a sudden ... Read more ►

YANGON (Myanmar Now) – Ethnic leaders and armed group representatives have welcomed last week’s appointment of Htin Kyaw as president of the National League for Democracy government, with some voicing confidence in his government’s abilities to revive Myanmar’s s... Read more ►

A human rights organization, Fortify Rights, based in South East Asia has called upon the US Department of State to assign Burma a ‘Tier-3’ ranking on its upcoming Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Burma is currently ranked as a Tier-2 country on the US Depart... Read more ►

Karen Literacy and Cultural Committee members in the Rangoon Region are disappointed over the lack of official permission to allow the ethnic group to teach its language in government schools. Teaching of ethnic languages in government’s schools now is allowed outside of t... Read more ►

Regional level Karen People’s Party will reorganize its structure starting from the village tract and ward level. The party’s township officials discussed the issue at its meeting on March, 12 at Mahatheindawgyi Monastery in Pathein, Ayeyawaddy Division. Mahn Tun Tin, th... Read more ►

Burma Army soldiers have forced civilians to work for them in Rakhine State, under threat of death if they do not, Fortify Rights a human rights watchdog based in South East Asia said. Fortify Rights said that ethnic Rakhine civilians were forced to dig graves and carry supp... Read more ►

A coalition of Karen environmental community based groups, the Karen River Watch, joined with local villagers to protest the building of hydro-power dams on the Salween River. The protesters called for all mega hydro-power projects on Salween River to stop. The protest marke... Read more ►