Petition launched for release of Nay Phone Latt
Reporters Without Borders has launched a petition for the release of Burmese blogger Nay Phone Latt and comedian Zrganar. Nay Phone Latt was sentenced to 20 and a half years in prison in November (see: Bloggers unite for Nay Phone Latt). The petition was launched on Thursday, the first anniversary of Latt’s arrest.
Reporters Without Borders [...]
Obama’s inauguration speech censored in Burma
Burma’s military junta censored coverage of new US president Barack Obama’s inauguration speech reports the Irrawaddy.
The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division did not allow the publishing of parts of the speech in the Rangoon-based weekly The Voice.
According to journalists in the city, they decided to cut sensitive political messages, including this section: “To those who [...]
No justice for parents of 7 year old rape victim
The Burmese Army has offered the parents of a seven-year-old Karen girl, who was raped and murdered by a Burmese soldier, a bribe of US$800 for their silence.
Ma Ne Mya was raped and killed in her home in Ma Oo Bin village in Nyaunglebin Township on December 27 (see: Call for justice after SPDC soldier [...]
Gambari to head back to Burma
Ibrahim Gambari, the UN’s special envoy to Burma will visit the country at the end of this month according to media reports.
The Associated Press is quoting an unnamed diplomatic source as saying the visit is set for January 31. This will be Gambari’s seventh visit and his first for five months. Past visits have received [...]
Thailand refuses to grant UNHCR access to Rohingya boat people
The Thai government has refused a request from the UNHCR for access to 126 boat people being detained in Thailand.
The UN’s refugee agency requested access to the members of the Rohingya ethnic minority on Tuesday to determine their need for international protection.
The request came a week after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expressed concern [...]
DKBA harassing Thai-Karen villages in Thailand
Following recent attacks on the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA)’s 103 Battalion (see: Fighting intensifies along the border), troops from the breakaway Democratic Karen Buddhist Army crossed into Thailand and have since been operating in and around Thai-Karen villages in Thailand.
In a new report, the Karen Human Right Group (KHRG) claims DKBA troops have been [...]
Is North Korea helping Burma build a secret underground weapon?
Burma’s military is reportedly building a network of underground tunnels between Naypyidaw, the country’s administrative capital and the town of Pin Laung in Shan State. According to the Democratic Voice of Burma, local residents speculate the tunnels are part of a secret weapons project, while workers report the project is being constructed with the assistance [...]
Fighting intensifies along the border
Intense fighting between government forces and the KNLA (Karen National Liberation Army), the armed wing of the Karen National Union is continuing across the border from Mae Sot.
According to Mizzima News, Burmese Army forces are preparing to launch another major offensive against the KNLA across the border from Thailand’s Umphang district, just south of Mae [...]
Nargis recovery to take until 2011
It will likely take up to four years for survivors of Cyclone Nargis to fully recover from the storm’s impact. Bishow Parajuli, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator said, “Full recovery will take three to four years, depending on the availability of funds.”
Nargis struck Burma in May 2008 and according to IRIN (Integrated Regional Information Networks), [...]
Activist sentenced to 104 years in jail
Bo Min Yu Ko, a member of the All Burma Federation of Students Unions was sentenced to a staggering 104 years in jail by a court in Mandalay’s Obo Prison.
According to a statement by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) (AAPP) Bo Min Yu Ko was sentenced on January 3 after a court hearing [...]
How free are we?
Freedom in much of the world declined in 2008 according to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2009 study. The greatest reversals in political rights and civil liberties were seen in Sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union, while South Asia showed significant improvement.
The survey examines developments in 2008 in each of the world’s 193 [...]
Political prisoners being denied family visits
Families of political prisoners who have been transferred to remote parts of Burma say they are not being allowed to visit their relatives. The Democratic Voice of Burma reports that in some cases, families have travelled for miles across the country, only to be barred from seeing their loved ones.
Than Tin, an 88 generation student [...]
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