Articles

Shan community based organizations claim that Burmese authorities are preparing to repatriate Shan refugees from Thailand, warning that the safety of refugees are at risk and repatriation is “premature.” The community groups, the Shan Human Rights Foundation and the Shan Women’s Action Network, said that Burmese authorities had visited Koung Jor camp of about 500 people last month. The camp…

Farm workers refusing to work for low wages in the Irrawaddy Delta has caused a labor shortage in the region. Farm owners in Ba Wine village, Pantanaw Township, say it is now difficult to find workers to work for wages lower than what is on offer in the big cities. Saw Han Gyi, a local farm owner from Ba Wine…

The Karen Wrist Tying ceremony – a popular Karen ethnic traditional ceremony is to be held in the Irrawaddy Delta region for the first time. The Karen Wrist Tying ceremony is organized by members of the Karen Literature and Culture Committee based in Pantannaw Township, Irrawaddy Division on August 12. Mahn Win Maung, joint secretary of the Karen Literature and…

Today is the 63rd anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day that commemorates Karen leaders and civilians who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the Karen people under successive Burma military regimes. In a letter addressing all Karen people, General Mutu Say Po, chairman of the Karen National Union, said that the sacrifice of their lives by its martyrs had help…

Hundreds of refugees in southern Thailand gathered today to commemorate the Karen Martyrs’ Day on 12 August. The Karen refugees from the Tham Hin camp joined to commemorate the 63rd Anniversary of Karen Martyrs’ Day. Saw Raymond Bu, head of Tham Hin refugee committee bluntly told the large crowd of refugees. “Our lives as refugees, is like that of chickens…

More than 5,000 Burmese people turned up at the Myanmar Convention Centre to show their support for the 1988 democracy protest anniversary. The silver jubilee anniversary commemorating the 8.8.88 uprising that swept through Burma 25 years ago finished today with democracy leaders calling for the struggle for political freedom to continue. Keynote speakers, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and…

Burma Campaign UK, a prominent rights advocacy group, has accused the President of Burma, U Thein Sein, of keeping hundreds of political prisoners in jail despite his claims of democratic reform and liberalising the country’s political system. The group has highlighted the case of two leading rights activists as symbolic of the tenuous human rights situation in Burma despite the…

Burma’s government has received harsh criticism for arbitrarily arresting a 74 year-old human rights activist in July and keeping him under arrest despite reports that he is in poor health and cannot get proper medical attention. The elderly man, Kyaw Hla Aung has been in arbitrary detention in Sittwe Police Station No. 1 in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since July 15th.…

Villagers from the Taungoo region claim that Burma military officials are offering to contract local farmers to work land that was confiscated from them by the army during the previous military regime. Villagers said that the military officials responsible are from the Bayingnaung Military Training Center in Taungoo that is under the Southern Military Command. Villagers alleged that Burma Army…

RANGOON – The 88 Generation Students began its silver jubilee commemoration activities today in Rangoon. The silver jubilee celebrations started at 8am on August 6th and will end on August 8th at the Myanmar Convention Centre in Rangoon. The members of 88 Generation said in a statement that they were “encouraged by the spirit of unity today at this 25th…