Articles

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 ruckus erupted when dozens of policemen entered the coastal village in Ayeyarwady Region. They were looking for…

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 stalled peace process. “Although Aung San Suu Kyi is not the president, she will be able to work harmoniously with the president.…

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 Department of State watch list. Fortify Rights said that TIP rankings should be “objective and based…

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 the official curriculum, but ethnic nationalities pushed to have their languages taught officially in government schools. A general…

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, the KPP’s Ayeyarwaddy regional chairman spoke to Karen News. “Our plan is that if there are 10 villages in a…

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 supplies for Burma Army forces engaged in a conflict with the Arakan Army…

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 marked the International Day of Action for Rivers and Against Dams, held each year on March 14. Representatives…

While parliament’s vote for a civilian president is greeted with optimism, the appointment of a junta-era figure to first vice-president concerns many YANGON (Myanmar Now) – Across Myanmar, Htin Kyaw’s appointment as president on Tuesday was greeted with optimism as finally a civilian, and not a general, will lead the government. But the simultaneous approval of the military’s choice for…

Student leaders from the All Burma Federation of Student Union’s have announced they will boycott the country’s judicial system and have announced a “Failed Law” calling for a change to the 2008 constitution. The campaign was sparked by a crackdown by Burmese authorities on protesters against a joint Chinese and Burma Army copper mine project in Letpadaung in December 2014.…

In spite of recent reforms and the release of political prisoners, the numbers still in jail in Burma are significant, a human rights advocacy organisation based in the United Kingdom has said. Burma Campaign UK, said it had launched a campaign to highlight the issue of political imprisonment in Burma, referring to the case of Naw Ohn Hla, who was…