Burma

The international media watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists has demanded that authorities in Burma should “immediately drop all criminal proceedings against three journalists charged with defamation and should strike all criminal defamation laws from the books” In a statement released on June 19 the CPJ’s, senior Southeast Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, said that “Authorities in Myanmar should throw out…

A displaced villager from the Mae Tha Wor area of Hlaingbwe Township, Karen State stepped on a landmine as he and other villagers returned to their village to check their plantations on January 31. Saw Ophar Ngah, a villager from Htee Noh Hta village in Mae Tha Wor area had to have his right leg amputated below knee. Saw Ophar…

THANDWE, Rakhine State – Rakhine State is one of Myanmar’s poorest regions, where fishing is an important livelihood and business, while it also provides food for many subsistence fishermen. A 2014 Oxfam report estimated 43 percent of the population was to some degree dependent on fishing or aquaculture. The industry has been in a long decline, however, as fish catch…

KWINYAR VILLAGE, Ayeyarwady Region – On a recent November morning, farmer Soe Myint Aung was busy collecting rice from his harvester and loading it into bags. It is heavy work but still he knows he is lucky; with 17 acres of paddy field situated along a road in Kwinyar Village, in Kangyidaunt Township, he can afford to own a harvester.…

Professor Desmond Ball, academic, military strategist and author of more than 40 books on military intelligence, died today at 3:35pm Australian time. Des work was impressive. He spent time inside US top secret nuclear and command centres, advising the CIA, the White House and the Pentagon, where he persuaded them that a limited nuclear war was impossible. Former US President…

Burma and Thai officials have agreed to extend the permit of stay from one day to seven days for people traveling with their temporary border pass between the neighboring countries. The Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gateway is a major crossing for trade routes between Thailand and Burma. Under the new agreement between the two countries, travelers who cross the border from…

The Karen traditional Don Dance has been included in the Burma National Performing Arts competition that has been held for over 20-years. The inclusion of the ethnic performing arts, particularly ethnic traditional dances, were discussed at the recent meeting of the competition convening committee where Karen and Rakhine traditional dances were voted to be included, according to a senior official…

The New York based human rights organisation Human Rights Watch has called on the US Government to retain ‘key sanctions’ in order to keep pressure on the Burmese military to reform. “US sanctions are focused on the Burmese military and its cronies, not the people of Burma,” John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at HRW said in a statement, “The sanctions…

Some 20,000 convicts toil in prison labour camps across the country, where they face abuse, exploitation and forced labour, a Myanmar Now investigation finds. NAUNG CHO TOWNSHIP, Shan State (Myanmar Now) – Under the glare of the midday sun, several dozen men wearing blue outfits, with shackles around their ankles, stood grouped together in a field of shrubs and tall…

Funding cuts have decreased food rations, negatively impacted already weakened health care and education systems, and a resettlement process has taken many in community leadership roles before replacements can be adequately trained. Refugees feel they are being forced to “voluntarily” repatriate or remain in camps that are underfunded and find it increasingly difficult to meet the needs of the refugees.…