Myanmar forces struggle to contain ethnic and religious violence

Security forces struggled to contain clashes in western Myanmar on Tuesday after days of ethnic and religious violence left at least a dozen people killed and thousands displaced.

The fighting between majority Rakhine Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims is posing a serious challenge for the national government and its reform agenda as it seeks to end decades of isolation and military rule […]

Lifting of Burma sanctions ‘premature’

The decision to lift sanctions was announced by Foreign Minister Bob Carr on Thursday. Senator Carr, who is nearing the end of an official visit to Burma, has held talks with President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Senator Carr said the decision would add “momentum to the process of democratisation”, with Australia “lending further support to the reforms under way”.

But rights groups say the steps are premature because the Burmese military remains powerful and because a campaign against ethnic communities continues in the northeast. Human rights abuses are still occurring, they say, especially in Kachin State which is occupied by 150 army battalions […]

Kachin urge world to address their conflict

Myanmar ethnic and dissident groups have blasted ignorance of the plight of victims of the Kachin conflict as “immoral”.

Speaking at a seminar in Bangkok, Khin Ohmar of the Burma Partnership said the international community must not brush aside the Kachin state violence, which has so far claimed 75,000 victims.

“The state of denial must stop. Repeatedly the outside world has said this is not the right time [to intervene], but when will it be the right time?” said Khin Ohmar […]

Kachin groups protest at Burmese embassy

Foreign-based Kachin organisations demonstrated in front of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok yesterday and called for an end to the on-going war in Kachin state.

About 50 protesters from several organisations including Kachin Women’s Association-Thailand, All Kachin Students and Youth Union and Friends of Burma, along with Kachin migrant workers and Burmese activists, joined the protest in front of the Burmese embassy from 10am to 11:30am […]

Aung San Suu Kyi: Just a glimpse

ADORING throngs of expatriated Burmese nationals (and NGO staffers) lined kilometres of the airport road to welcome Aung San Suu Kyi to the border town of Mae Sot. On the last day of Miss Suu Kyi’s landmark visit to Thailand, her first trip abroad in 24 years, she was escorted by tight security provided by Thailand’s army and police. From the tarmac her convoy was whisked past the cheering supporters to Mae La, the area’s largest refugee camp. More than 45,000 shelter here, most of them ethnic Karen who have fled war and repression in neighbouring Myanmar […]

Suu Kyi home after ‘very satisfactory’ trip

Aung San Suu Kyi strode through Yangon International Airport on Sunday waving to passengers, ending her six-day trip to neighboring Thailand and told waiting reporters her trip was “very successful.”

“It was a very good visit,” she said, after she was greeted by high-level officials from her party. She will shortly embark on a longer trip to five European cities, taking advantage of her newly acquired freedom to travel outside her country […]

Activists, refugees await Suu Kyi’s visit

Emotions and expectations are running high among exiled Myanmar activists and ethnic groups ahead of the visit of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to the Tak border district today.

They hope her visit to the Mae La refugee camp will raise international awareness of their plight – and they are keeping their fingers crossed for a return to their homeland […]

It’s time for Aung San Suu Kyi to get serious about management

This week, The New York Times covered Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to Thailand — the first foreign trip for Burma’s opposition leader in 25 years. Many people who have dealt with Suu Kyi and her political entourage over the years say that the Times report, which described a striking lack of organization in the upper ranks of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was spot-on […]

No worries over Thein Sein no-show

Govt says bilateral ties unaffected, while Thailand’s Myanmar community waits to embrace Suu Kyi

President Thein Sein’s no-show at the World Economic Forum in Bangkok this week is unlikely to undermine the friendly relations forged between his government and the Yingluck Shinawatra administration […]

How the Optimism About Burma is Subverted By Its Never-Ending Civil War

Since taking office in March 2011, Burmese president Thein Sein has captivated international attention by releasing political prisoners, loosening press restrictions and luring world-famous democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi back into the political mainstream. Though the end-point of Burma’s democratic spring remains ambiguous, the imprimatur of “the Lady,” as she is known, has been enough to convince Western policymakers that the reforms are real […]