David Mathieson: ‘War crimes are happening’
Refugees continue to move back and forth across Burma’s border with Thailand as fighting in Karen state shows no sign of abating. Thai authorities have been criticised for treating those[…]
Arakan Lead Story News Rohingya
Interim report of Arakan probe fails to impress
International human rights advocates have criticised the interim report of the government-formed investigative commission tasked with probing the attacks on 9 October and subsequent violence in northern Arakan State.
Arakan Conflict Lead Story News Rohingya
Will ‘fairly soon’ be soon enough? Clock ticking for aid-needy in Arakan
Arakan State Advisory Commission chair Kofi Annan’s statement this week that he had been assured humanitarian aid access would be restored to northern Arakan State in the near future has put a tentative, if ill-defined, time table on potentially life-saving assistance.
Analysis Arakan Lead Story News
Arakan crisis: still more questions than answers
Various commissions and committees say they are investigating alleged abuses and incidents involving the Rohingya minority, but misinformation and partisanship continue to blur the lines.
Was military culture of violence to blame for 18-yr-old’s death?
Khin Zaw Win said he also requested a copy of the autopsy report but was refused. “I don’t want anyone else to suffer like my son did,” he said.
Human Rights Lead Story News Photos
Life with hard labour
Some 20,000 convicts toil in prison labour camps across the country, where they face abuse, exploitation and forced labour, a Myanmar Now investigation finds.
Human Rights Lead Story News Refugees
HRW urges Suu Kyi to put rights, refugees on China visit agenda
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi should raise the issue of refugees sheltering in China when she meets with Chinese leaders this week, says Human Rights Watch.
US ‘encouraged’ by NLD efforts in Arakan
A senior US official says he’s “encouraged” by the efforts of Burma’s new government to resolve religious tensions in Arakan State, but others are less impressed.
Human Rights Lead Story Media News
HRW to govt: Drop laws curbing free speech
A new report by Human Rights Watch notes that lawsuits and arrests aimed at curtailing free speech have continued under the NLD government.
Ex-junta VP casts shadow over election of civilian president
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.
UEC tribunal adjudicates election disputes
On a recent February morning, just after Burma’s new democratically-elected parliament convened, the UEC was abuzz with activity.
Human Rights Koh Tao Lead Story Migrants Issues News
The origins of Burmese migrant worker misery
While correctly demanding that Thailand end its rights abuses against migrants, the incoming NLD government also needs address the structural inequalities and abuses that have driven people from Burma to work and live outside their country.
Conflict Lead Story Military News
International voices call for more action on child soldiers
Burma today discharged 53 underage recruits from its armed forces, but several observers urged a more concrete approach and an end to the practise.
Human Rights Lead Story News Politics
Human rights groups condemn social media arrests
Human rights groups have condemned the arrests of Chaw Sandi Htun and Patrick Kum Jaa Lee, who were detained in relation to Facebook posts.
Human Rights Lead Story News Politics
Release all 91 political prisoners, says Amnesty
Jailed for religious defamation, New Zealander Phil Blackwood is the sole foreigner on Amnesty International’s list of 91 prisoners of conscience in Burma.
Arakan Human Rights Lead Story News
UN slams ‘sexist, insulting’ slurs against Yanghee Lee
“The sexist, insulting language used against [Yanghee Lee] by an influential monk during Ms Lee’s official visit to the country is utterly unacceptable.”
Land Latpadaung Lead Story News
Amnesty, HRW slam deadly use of force at Latpadaung
International watchdogs and Burmese activists have voiced distress and disdain over the Burmese police handling of protestors at Latpadaung copper mine, where one woman was shot dead.
Par Gyi killing: US calls for investigation
International rights groups have joined domestic voices in condemning the killing of journalist Par Gyi by the Burmese army. The US embassy has called for the govt to investigate.
Security increased in Rangoon in wake of Al-Qaeda threat
Rangoon Region Border Affairs and Security Ministry said it has beefed up security in the wake of a declaration by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri that the terror network expand its jihad to India, Bangladesh and Burma.
DVB journalist Zaw Pe freed
Zaw Pe was freed from Thayat prison, Magwe on Friday after a court reduced his sentence from one year to three months.
Press Council to probe parliament on investigation into media firms’ finances
The Interim Press Council will formally question the Union Parliament about the Special Branch’s recent inquisition on financial details of private daily newspapers and weekly journals.
Elections Lead Story News Politics
HRW calls for ‘genuinely independent’ electoral body
Human Rights Watch slammed Burma’s electoral body for “intimidating” the National League of Democracy.
Analysis Lead Story Media News
On World Press Freedom Day, how free is the Burmese media?
The Burmese media landscape is blighted by the existence of six imprisoned media workers while the Ministry of Information (MoI) appears driven by an agenda seemingly at odds with a revitalised Burmese media community.
DVB reporter jailing prompts doubts over Burma’s press freedom
The US and British embassies speak out, as do other members of the international community, against the jailing of a DVB reporter and an apparent ongoing government policy of backsliding on media reform.
DVB reporter sentenced to 1 year for ‘disturbing a civil servant’
Zaw Pe, a reporter for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), was sentenced to one year imprisonment on Monday by a court in Magwe after being found guilty of “trespassing” and “disturbing a civil servant on duty”.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Politics
Intl community ‘deeply concerned’ over Sittwe riots
The European Union and the United States expressed “deep concern” on Thursday evening after mobs of Arakanese Buddhists attacked homes and offices of humanitarian aid workers in the capital of Burma’s western Arakan State.
Rohingya call on govt for inclusion in 2014 census
Two Rohingya political parties issued a plea to the government last Friday not to be categorised as “other” in the upcoming census, claiming they are “bona fide citizens” and entitled to be recognised as an ethnic minority group in Burma.
British ambassador defends Burmese military training
Britain’s Ambassador to Burma Andrew Patrick defended his government’s decision to initiate a training programme for the Burmese armed forces in early January, saying the course will not enhance the Burmese military’s combat ability.
DVB Debate Lead Story Society Video
How can Burma halt the spread of religious violence?
In the final episode of the season, DVB Debate discusses how to end religious violence.
New prisoners, same cages
The recent arrest of Latpadaung protestor Naw Ohn Hla and other peaceful demonstrators casts a pall over Thein Sein’s pledge to release all political prisoners before the year’s end.
