In a dramatic development on the August 12, Parliamentary Speaker, Shwe Mann was ousted from his position as Chair of the ruling party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). Security forces surrounded USDP headquarters in Naypyidaw and purged the influential political figure from his position within the party. Information Minister, Ye Htut, stated that his close relationship with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as support for constitutional change that would reduce the power of the Burma Army was behind his ouster […]
• • •This year’s monsoon rains have hit Burma harder than most years in the country’s history, leading to the worst natural disaster since Cyclone Nargis in 2008. So far, nearly 100 people have died from the severe flooding caused by heavy rains and flash floods and over one million people have been affected in all but two of Burma’s 14 states and regions since June 2015. Approximately 1.2 million acres of rice fields have been destroyed including large parts of Burma’s “rice bowl,” the Irrawaddy Delta, and nearly 14,000 educational institutions have been temporarily shut down due to this natural disaster […]
• • •MANDALAY — More than 300 people, including members of the National League of Democracy (NLD), staged a demonstration on Friday in Pakokku, Magwe Division, to voice dissatisfaction over the opposition party’s roster of local candidates set to contest Burma’s general election later this year.
• • •On 2 July 2015, five student protestors were charged under the controversial Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law for taking part in a protest concerning the overpowering influence of the Burma Army in Parliament. An additional four students were arrested after being involved in a graffiti protest on the campus of Yadanabon University in Mandalay. The demonstrations came as a result of the ongoing detention and subsequent unfair trials of students protesting the national education law along with the failure of Parliament to pass five out of six proposed amendments to the 2008 Constitution, most notably Article 436 […]
• • •(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus and a leader in the House of Representatives on Burma, released the statement below on the announcement by Burma’s leaders that general elections will be held on November 8 […]
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