Burma army

The human rights advocacy group, Burma Campaign UK, has called on David Cameron’s government to support a UN Commission of Inquiry into violations of international law in Burma, amid concerns that the country’s reform process under President U Thein Sein has stalled. “Burma Campaign UK believes that European Union sanctions on Burma were lifted prematurely, without the EU’s own human…

This week, which marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the women of Burma reiterated their call for an international investigation to look into the continuing use of rape and sexual violence against women in Burma, and address the issue of military impunity. The situation since the so-called reform process began is no different from before…

Burma’s armed forces are using systematic sexual violence on a “widespread scale,” a report by a women’s group advocating on ethnic women’s rights in Burma has found. The report, by the Women’s League of Burma, an umbrella organisations that represents 13 organisations, accused the Burmese military of using rape as a strategy of war. In a statement released today to…

An artillery attack against the Kachin Independence Army’s Military Academy, that left at least 23 officer cadets dead and a further 20 injured, was unprovoked and endangers the push for a nationwide peace agreement, a Kachin advocacy organisation has asserted. A statement by the Kachin Alliance, a network of Kachin community organisations based in the United States, condemned the attack…

An international aid agency has warned that ongoing instability in Burma is blocking prospects for a sustainable peace and the repatriation of communities displaced by conflict. The Border Consortium (TBC), which delivers aid to Burmese refugees in Thailand and internally displaced people in Burma, said that peace efforts were “stumbling,” leaving conflict-affected communities in the dark. There has been a…

An international human rights organisation claims in a statement released 6th November that the Burma Army is committing human rights abuses with impunity in conflict areas. The statement, released by South East Asia based Fortify Rights, stated that the Burma Army was deliberately attacking and killing civilians. Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, said that the government claims of…

Aung Kyaw Naing’s death in military custody has triggered fears the government is sending a message that no journalist in the country is safe. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that up to Sept 10 this year, 40 journalists had been killed while reporting. The name of Myanmar journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, who was killed…

Free Burma Rangers, an organisation delivering humanitarian assistance to conflict affected areas, stated that clashes between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups continued into October with reports of government forces resorting to looting, torture and arbitrary detention. “There are claims that civilians are being conscripted into Burma militia training; Burma Army troops make a regular practice of establishing checkpoints…

When ethnic fighters clashed with the Myanmar military in Myawaddy Township last month, most ethnic Karen farmers stayed put, despite fears the army would respond with violence. “They have run away so many times, they are tired of running,” said Reverend Day Bert, the 70-year-old pastor at Myawaddy’s Baptist Church. With Thailand just across the narrow Moei River, Karen people…

The killing of freelance journalist, Aung Kyaw Naing, (also known as Par Gyi), while held in custody by the Burma Army in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, has outraged human rights organizations and journalist groups. The Assistant Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) bluntly stated in a media statement released yesterday that Aung Kyaw Naing’s death “is a shocking reminder of how…