HRW calls on ASEAN to do more for Rohingya
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has failed to adequately address the plight of Burma’s Rohingya people says Human Rights Watch (HRW).
They are calling on ASEAN members to press Burma’s ruling military junta to end systematic abuses of Rohingya and protect those who flee to their countries.
Every year, thousands of Rohingya flee Burma, where [...]
Tales of abuse and religious discrimination from Northern Burma
The Kachin people in northern Burma are suffering religious discrimination and severe restrictions on their rights say Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). CSW recently sent a team to Kachin State.
They heard testimony of rape, religious discrimination and land confiscation. In a report on their visit, CSW quotes a 21-year-old Bible school student, who was raped and [...]
Legal experts call for UN inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma
Human rights abuses in Burma should be examined by a UN commission of inquiry says a new report issued this week. The report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School compares the situation in Burma with Daefur, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
According to Reuters, the report says systematic human rights abuses, “strongly suggest Burma’s [...]
KNU issues statement denouncing trial of Aung San Suu Kyi
As the trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi get underway today in Yangon’s infamous Insein Prison, the Karen National Union has issued a statement denouncing the trial and calling for international pressure on the ruling military junta to begin meaningful dialogue:
OFFICE OF THE SUPREME HEADQUARTERS- KAREN NATIONAL UNION
KAWTHOOLEI
May 17, 2009
KNU Statement on [...]
Junta forcing villagers to join militia
Villagers in eastern Shan State are being ordered to serve in either the fire brigade or the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA).
However the Shan Herald Agency for News is quoting sources on the Thai border, as saying villagers joining the fire brigade are being trained as militia.
About 50 villagers have already been through the training, [...]
Concern raised for health of Burma’s political prisoners
Following recent international concern for the health of Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi comes news that many of Burma’s 2,099 other political prisoners are also in poor health.
Reports emerged over the weekend that Suu Kyi’s health was deteriorating and that her doctor had been arrested.
Hoever, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy now [...]
British MPs call for UN inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma
A motion calling on the UN to invoke the principal of Responsibility to Protect in response to the Burmese military regime’s campaign against the country’s ethnic minorities was tabled in the British parliament last week.
The so-called Early Day Motion was tabled by John Bercow MP and signed by over 60 MPs, including former Foreign Office [...]
2 villagers suspected killed following attack by ethnic groups
The Burma Army is suspected of killing two villagers following an ambush by a joint force from the PaO Liberation Army (PNLA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (see: Karen and PaO join forces in attack on SPDC patrol).
Two days after the ambush, soldiers from LIB 425 arrested villagers from Sar Sar and Nawngdapan villages, [...]
Karen and PaO join forces in attack on SPDC patrol
A joint ambush by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and the PaO National Liberation Army attacked a Burmese Army patrol on Sunday killing all 12 of the government soldiers.
According to an interview by the Shan Herald Agency for News with PNLA commander, Colonel Khun Thurein, the ambush was 57 miles south of Taunggyi city. [...]
Amnesty: Six jailed for burying Nargis victims
Amnesty International is calling for the release of 21 people jailed by the Burmese government for trying to help survivors of Cyclone Nargis, including six who were sentenced for helping to bury victims.
The six are Dr Nay Win and his daughter Phyo Phyo Aung, Aung Kyaw San, Lin Htet Naing (aka Aung Thant Zin Oo), [...]
One year after Cyclone Nargis survivors still in need
This weekend one year ago, Cyclone Nargis slammed into the Irrawaddy Delta, becoming the worst natural disaster in Burma’s history. Tens of thousands were killed by the 130 mph winds and in the flooding that followed the massive storm surge that engulfed the Delta.
The death toll was made worse by the military junta’s slow response [...]
Burma named worst country to be a blogger
Burma has been named at the top of a list of the ten worst countries to be a blogger compiled by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
In a new report, they note, “With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place [...]
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