Hammond Urged To Mobilise EU Over Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Burma Campaign UK today called on Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to ensure that EU Foreign Ministers discuss the Rohingya refugee crisis when they meet on Monday. The European Union should apply pressure on Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to stop pushing boats of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis back out to sea […]

Southeast Asia: End Rohingya Boat Pushbacks

(Bangkok, May 14, 2015) – Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should end their pushbacks of boats with Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants and asylum seekers, and instead bring them ashore and provide desperately needed aid, Human Rights Watch said today […]

Rohingya Refugee Crisis: ASEAN Should Stop Push-Back and Tackle Root Causes

Burma Campaign UK today called on ASEAN members to stop pushing boats of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshis back out to sea […]

ASEAN Parliamentarians Condemn Indonesia’s Treatment of Migrants

JAKARTA, 13 May 2015 – ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today criticized Indonesia’s approach to dealing with the influx of migrants in the midst of an escalating regional refugee crisis […]

ASEAN: ICJ Condemns Indonesian and Malaysian Push-backs at Sea

Bangkok, Thailand — The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today condemned the decisions of the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia to turn away and push back boats carrying hundreds of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas, including women and children, out to sea […]

Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia: Coordinate Sea Rescues, Protect Asylum Seekers and Trafficking Survivors

(BANGKOK)—Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia should immediately coordinate search and rescue operations for Rohingya asylum seekers and possible survivors of trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are stranded at sea, Fortify Rights said today […]

Dispatches: A Scathing Verdict on Burma’s Stalled Reforms

A remarkable set of meetings took place this week in Rangoon, with more than 650 representatives from Burmese civil society groups gathering to discuss the status of the country’s reform process […]

Myanmar Military Remains an Obstacle to Progress, AIPMC Warns

The military continues to exert undemocratic control over the Myanmar parliament and remains an obstacle to progress, AIPMC president Eva Kusuma Sundari warned a delegation of visiting Myanmar MPs this week.

Indonesian MPs, including Ms. Sundari, welcomed a delegation of parliamentarians from Myanmar on December 11, exchanging experiences, thoughts and ideas aimed at helping Myanmar’s nascent parliament develop its capacities to build a strong and just Burmese society […]

FM Marty Receives Myanmar Human Rights Delegation

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty M. Natalegawa received Chief of Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHCR) U Win Mra and Chief of Myanmar Women and Children Affairs Committee (WCAC) Mya Oo at his office here on Monday.

The first-ever visit by chiefs of the two Myanmar institutes in Indonesia for a week was intended to follow up the two visits by the Indonesian foreign minister to Myanmar in October and December last year […]

Political Prisoners Continue to Suffer Despite the Claim that Change has Come to Burma

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa recently undertook a mission to Burma in which he sought to determine whether the country has made sufficient changes to be granted the chair of ASEAN. Sadly, it appears that Mr. Natalegawa did not visit any of the ethnic states where conflict is ongoing and heinous human rights abuses are rampant. He also failed to meet with activists from the 88 generation who requested the opportunity speak with him. This may help to explain why Mr. Natalegawa’s comments at the conclusion of his visit focused on recent initiatives by the regime and declared that political reforms appear “irreversible.”

While change may be coming to Nyapyidaw and Rangoon, there is little evidence of change for those civilians living in conflict areas of Karen, Shan or Kachin State. Similarly, the 1700 political prisoners still behind bars have not experienced any positive change at all. Fifteen of these political prisoners being held in Burma’s notorious Insein prison, have attempted to bring some change to their situation, beginning a hunger strike to protest a ruling barring the majority of prisoners from the right to have their sentences reduced […]