Articles

Villagers in Doo Tha Htoo District Karen State are demanding to be paid full compensation for their lands they allege were illegally taken by one of Burma’s largest companies. Residents of Shwe Yaung Pya village and surrounding villages in Thaton Township have made it clear that they want to get paid full compensation for 5,000 acres of land near Shwe…

Three people were wounded when a landmine exploded as they were sightseeing in Northern Burma on Tuesday 26 April. The three people were two German tourists and their local guide. The area where the explosion took place is close to where the Burma Army is fighting with an ethnic Shan armed group. AFP reported that the three injured people were…

Across Myanmar landmines pose a daily threat of death and disability, but five years after the transition to democracy began, an official clearance programme has yet to get underway. KYAUKKYI, Myanmar (Myanmar Now) – Two years ago, Kyar Yin was in the forest near his village collecting bamboo to sell when he stepped on a landmine. Alone and his left…

Followers of Sayadaw U Thuzana, were instructed by the Buddhist leader to build a pagoda in a Christian church’s compound in Kun Taw Gyi also known as Tha Blu Kla village in Hliangbwe Township, Karen State on April 23. Villagers are concerned that the Abbot’s provocative actions could ignite the already increasing religious tension in the area. More than 300…

Burma Campaign UK, a human rights advocacy group has called for the release of U Gambira, a prominent political activist arrested in January, and “all the remaining political prisoners in Burma. U Gambira was arrested on January 19th this year while visiting Burma from his home in Thailand to obtain a new passport. U Gambira is in Obo prison while…

A Burma Army attack on a village on the Shan-Kachin State border has seen civilians targeted and killed, according to a report by the front line humanitarian organisation Free Burma Rangers. The attack happened on the 30th of March at Pang Hka village. During the attack a 70-year-old woman, named as Ma Kaw, was shot in the stomach. Before Ma…

The Karen State parliament approved six key ministries on April 7 that will be run by two independent academics, a representative of the military, Members of Parliament from the National League for Democracy and the Union Solidarity and Development Party. Nan Khin Htwe Myint, the Chief Minister of Karen State proposed the successful candidates that would lead the six ministries.…

Human Rights Watch praised Burma’s newly elected government for quickly putting into action the release of the country’s political prisoners. In a statement to the media Human Rights Watch said that “the new Burmese government, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), has taken a major step in releasing approximately 200 political prisoners and detainees, Human Rights Watch said…

The European Burma Network has called on the newly elected NLD government of Burma to “act swiftly” in addressing the humanitarian crisis confronting the country’s Muslim Rohingya population. “The past five years have seen a dramatic escalation of human rights abuses, repression, discrimination and violence against the Rohingya,” the EBN statement said. The Rohingya have faced mounting repression since violence…

A Burmese court on Friday released 69 political prisoners on Friday. The jailed student activists were freed following Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s promise on Thursday that a priority of her National League of Democracy government would be the release of activists and political prisoners. A large crowd outside the Tharrawaddy courthouse celebrated the release of the 69 students with…