human rights

A number of concerned civil society organizations have issued a statement demanding an investigation into the murder of a young Karen women activist, Naw Chit Pandaing, stabbed to death on November 19, in Dawei Town. Naw Chit Pandaing was a human right activist and a former worker with the Takabaw civil society organization – at the time of her killing,…

Local residents and community leaders gathered to meet with local press at Zayat Phyu village on October 8, to express their opposition against the proposed coal power plant to supply electricity for the No.2 Myaing Galay cement plant near Hpa-an. On the mid-September 2016, the villagers were informed by officials from the Ministry of Energy and from the cement plant…

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…

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.…

A report by the frontline humanitarian organisation Free Burma Rangers has said that the war in Kachin and Shan States is escalating. The FBR said in a report dated 29 August 2016 that “clashes and infantry assaults backed by mortar attacks are now a daily occurrence, and civilians are frequently caught in the crossfire.” The FBR said in its report…

YANGON (Myanmar Now) – Last month, Phyu Phyu made a life-changing decision that few women in Myanmar dare to take in her situation: the 38-year-old mother of two left the family home in Yangon’s Thingangyun Township to escape her abusive husband. “I was hit with a broken glass, and got bruises and cuts on my head. Once I was hit…

Saw Kweh Say Karen activist, songwriter, singer, filmmaker and founding member of Karen News, died in Mae Sot at the age of 43. Kweh Say suffered from diabetes and number of other health related illnesses in recent years. His commitment to his family, Karen related issues will be missed. Kweh Say worked with Burma Issues for more than a decade…

A new report by the Karen Human Rights Group has documented the insecurity and mistrust ethnic women have to Burmese authorities following decades of armed conflict. The report, entitled Hidden Strengths, Hidden Struggles, catalogues some of the main concerns ethnic women have as they go about their daily lives, including fears over personal security, sexual violence, land confiscation and access…