Burma

Burma’s President U Thein Sein arrived in Washington on Saturday and met with United States President Barack Obama today (Thai time) amidst criticism’s from international human rights groups that the Burmese’s government has failed to carry out its reforms promises made late last year. John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at the New York based Human Rights Watch said in a…

Local people affected by the construction of Thailand’s and Burma’s Dawei-Kanchanaburi road link in Southern Burma have rejected to be involved in a ‘public consultative meeting’ to approve the last stage of an environmental impact assessment report. A villager from Kaw Htee Klo (Tha Byut Chaung) told Karen News that surveyors from the Environmental Research Institute of Chulalongkorn University headed…

The Burma government opened today, ‘Htee Kee’ in Southern Burma, a new border trading post between Thailand and Burma. Htee Kee is a border checkpoint crossing Kanchanaburi province of Thailand and Burma’s Myitta Sub-Township in the Tanintharyi region. The Dawei-Kanchanaburi road link passes through Htee Kee. The opening ceremony of the Htee Kee border trading post was done by Burma’s…

A labor activist was jailed for seven years and six months, after being falsely accused of illegally cutting down trees, Burma Campaign UK, a human rights group that focuses on Burma, said. Myint Soe was arrested in March and sentenced to prison after being accused of cutting down eucalyptus trees on land owned by a paper company named Shwe Than…

International rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Burma Campaign UK, have criticised the EU for lifting its sanctions on Burma, saying that the move “undercuts” the impoverished country’s human rights progress. “The EU’s scrapping of targeted sanctions on Burma is premature and recklessly imperils human rights gains made so far,” said Lotte Leicht, EU director at HRW. On April…

Burma Campaign UK, a human rights advocacy group, has urged the European Union to refrain from lifting further sanctions on Burma citing the deteriorating situation in Shan State. “There is no doubt that there have been dramatic changes in Burma in the past two years, and that there is opportunity for further change which must be encouraged. However, European Union…

Karen News photojournalist Saw Mort spent time with landmine casualty Saw LahKyi, a Karen National Liberation Army soldier, who lost both legs when he stepped on a mine in 2009. The Royal Thai Army estimates that the Thai Burma border is the region’s most heavily landmined and according to the 2012 Landmine Monitor Report, Karen State has the most casualties…

Between Thailand and Myanmar, the town of Mae Sot is experiencing rapid economic growth. But the story of success is a double-edged sword, with migrant workers struggling to live, even as the town gets richer. The border town of Mae Sot is undergoing an unprecedented boom, riding on Myanmar’s rapid opening up and its strategic position as a regional transport…

Following the murderous violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Meikhtila Town last week, a prominent Buddhist monk organization has forbid its congregation to be involved in sectarian violence. The Saffron Monk Network issued a statement last week warning the public not to take part in any violent events following the riots between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Meikhtila…

Burma News International (BNI) launched the book Deciphering Myanmar’s Peace Process: A Reference Guide on Monday 18 March at the Bangkok based, Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. The 184-page book presents key aspects of the country’s 60-year civil war, including the fundamental causes, the Burma’s government’s peace plan and who the key stakeholders are – including ethnic armed groups and…