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Human Rights Watch warns that thousands of ethnic Kachin fleeing war in Burma are at risk of abuses, food shortages and conflict China should stop the forced return of thousands of ethnic Kachin refugees to northern Burma, where they are at risk from “armed hostilities, Burmese Army abuses, and lack of aid,” Human Rights Watch said in a media statement…

Positive political changes in Burma – including the release of 1,500 political prisoners – have unfolded rapidly since a flawed election saw ex-general Thein Sein come into power in 2011. But reform is “still at a tentative and early stage” according to a leading NGO of activist scholars, the Transnational Institute (TNI). The entry of the NLD into parliament, the…

Burma’s Ministry of Construction plans to build a second Friendship Bridge between the Burma border town of Myawaddy and the Thai town of Mae Sot. Plans to build the bridge were reported in the Thai media citing from a media statement released by the Burmese government’s Ministry of Construction, director, U Kyaw Lin, who said that the reason for the…

Refugees at Mae La Refugee camp on the Thai Burma border with relatives resettled I third countries are about to be screened by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand to see if they are eligible to be resettled. It is estimated that there are as many as 52,000 people living at the Mae La refugee camp that…

Burma’s Mon political parties claim to focus for the land confiscation disputes in the state and in particular in the Tanintharyi region. The All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Mon Democracy Party met with the 88 Generation Student Group in August to discuss how to work together for civilians fighting land confiscation cases. U Naing Soe Myint, Central Executive…

A group of six ethnic political parties from Burma – the Nationalities Brotherhood Forum, released a statement to announce that they want newsletters and journals published in ethnic languages as they cannot rely on the government to do so. The statement released during the NBF’s quarterly meeting was also attended by representatives from ethnic political parties. Sa Be Kyin Oo,…

Karen people who have resettled in Australia are determined that their children do not forget their heritage or their traditions. This year a Karen community living in Melbourne, Victoria invited other ethnic groups from Burma and local Aboriginal leaders to attend the annual wrist-tying ceremony. Nan Let Let Win an organizer of this year’s wrist-tying celebrations said. “The practice and…

As many as 600 people attended the Karen National Union fourth liaison office opening ceremony in Myawaddy, Karen State that will serve as the main communication hub for the Burma Army and the Karen National Liberation Army’s 6th and 7th Brigade areas. During the opening ceremony, the government’s Railway Minister U Aung Min said that he hoped and believed that…

A Kachin relief group reports that Chinese doctors and a team of medics are battling to contain an outbreak of measles among children in a Kachin refugee camp on the China side of the border with Burma. Health workers say the measles outbreak has spread quickly among children under the age of 10 living in the La Ying, Kachin refugee…

The Karen National Union (KNU) is on schedule to open its fourth liaison office in the Burma’s border town Myawaddy on August 18. P’doh Saw Aung Maw Aye, chairman of the KNU’s Pa-an District has confirmed that on 18 August, the Pa-an District or Brigade-7 and Doo Pla Ya District will open a joint liaison office in Myawaddy town, eastern…