Burma 2011: Still a Military Dictatorship

Despite the convening of the newly elected Parliament, Burma’s ‘democratically-elected’ regime is nothing more than a disguised version of the military dictatorship that has ruled Burma for the past five decades […]

Burma Issues & Concerns Vol. 6: The 2010 Generals’ Elections

The report provides an incisive analysis of Burma’s 2010 elections and documents the extent to which the SPDC orchestrated and controlled every aspect of the election process. The report analyzes the conduct of the election process using key indicators based on commonly accepted standards for election monitoring (i.e. UN, OSCE, and EU guidelines) to demonstrate that the polls were not free and fair […]

Universal Periodic Review of Burma: Deny, Dismiss and Dodge, Military Regime Unwilling to Face up to Massive Human Rights Abuses

On the occasion of the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights situation in Burma at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 January, FIDH, Altsean-Burma and BLC deplore the military regime’s blanket denial of the serious human rights abuses and the entrenched impunity that prevails in the country. The organisations welcome the engagement by a number of Member States in their dialogue with regime officials […]

Open Letter: Thailand must respect principle of non-refoulement and protect the rights of refugees

Your excellencies,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations, the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) and the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), are deeply troubled by the actions of the Thai Army and border police to force at least 166 refugees back to Burma on 25 December 2010. These refugees fled their home villages in southeastern Burma due to armed clashes between the Burma’s military forces and ethnic rebels […]

Aung San Suu Kyi freed, but Burma taken hostage by the generals

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), and the Burma Lawyers’ Council are pleased to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi regain her freedom on 13 November after spending 15 of the last 21 years in detention in Burma […]

Week 35: 2010 Election Watch (2-8 November)

Developments

Widespread evidence of electoral fraud, irregularities, threats, harassment, and lack of independent monitoring characterized Election Day and the days leading up to it:

• In the days before the election, local SPDC officials, polling station officials, and Union Solidarity and Development (USDP) members throughout the country solicited advance and proxy votes, in the overwhelming majority of cases specifically for the USDP […]

Week 34: 2010 Election Watch (26 October – 1 November)

Developments

• NLD members distributed election boycott leaflets in Rangoon’s Insein and Mingaladon Townships. Riot police in Rangoon’s North Okkalapa Township surrounded “no-vote” campaigners as they attempted to distribute election boycott leaflets.
• Around 1,200 people from over 150 villages protested the elections in Ye and Thanbyuzayat Townships in Mon State and Kyainnseikyi Township in Karen State […]

Week 33: 2010 Election Watch (19-25 October)

Developments

• SPDC authorities in Rangoon arrested at least two Buddhist monks who were handing out pamphlets protesting the election near the Shwedagon pagoda.
• People put up anti-election leaflets and posters in Myitkyina, Kachin State, and in Kyainnseikyi Township, Karen State […]

Week 32: 2010 Election Watch (12-18 October)

Developments

• SPDC Election Commission Chairman Thein Soe said that no foreign journalists or international monitors would be allowed to observe the upcoming elections.
• SPDC Election Commission Chairman Thein Soe said that 3,071 candidates, including 82 independent candidates, will contest the elections […]

Burma’s 2010 Elections: The story so far

This briefer shows that despite the SPDC’s repeated pledges for “free and fair” elections, indicators for election monitoring based on EU, UN, and OSCE guidelines point to the contrary. The SPDC election laws and conduct of the SPDC Election Commission have caused the dissolution of parties that won 84% of seats in the last election, and disenfranchised at least 1.5 million voters […]