Press Release: Justice Trust

— A group of Buddhist monks who were severely injured at Letpadaung copper mine on 29 November, 2012 will announce the launch of a lawsuit against Home Affairs Minister General Ko Ko for ordering an illegal police action that used phosphorus munitions.

Burma’s Religious Conversion Bill is “Major Setback for Religious Freedom and Human Rights”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has expressed profound concern that a new law restricting religious conversions, passed earlier this week by the upper house of Burma’s parliament, would be a major setback for religious freedom and human rights in the country. […]

Myanmar: Serious Risk of Further Human Rights Abuses at Controversial Letpadaung Mine

Two years after police used incendiary weapons against monks and villagers protesting a mining project in central Myanmar, no one has been held accountable, Amnesty International said ahead of the anniversary of the attack. […]

Burma: Religious Freedom and Related Human Rights Violations are Hindering Broader Reforms

Executive Summary

The dramatic political developments in Burma in recent years are of historical and geopolitical significance. Bur-ma has progressed much further than most might have imagined possible only a few short years ago. Despite these achievements, Burma still has a long journey along the road to democracy and respect for human rights. Serious violations of religious freedom and human rights continue, accompanied by disturbing evidence of prejudice and intolerance, trends that will inevitably and dramatically impact the prospects for a brighter future. In short, the political reform process in Burma is at great risk of deteriorating if religious freedom and the right to equal treatment under the law are not honored and protected. […]

Thousands in Mandalay Rally for Faith Laws

MANDALAY — Thousands of Buddhist monks, nuns and laypeople marched through downtown Mandalay on Thursday afternoon to demand that the government take action on a set of highly controversial and currently stagnant interfaith bills.

Organized by the upper Burma chapter of the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, locally referred to as the Ma Ba Tha, the rally was joined by sympathizers from several nearby townships including Sagaing, Myingyun and Mandalay’s immediate surrounds […]

Arakanese Remembered Monk Revolution in Sittwe

The people of Burma remembered the monk revolution in various parts of the country. The Arakanese capital city of Sittwe also held the commemoration ceremony where 90 monks received donations from the devotees.

The 8th anniversary of monk revolution was jointly organized on 27 September by the Arakanese Young Monk Association (for maintaining discipline and welfare to the people), Youth Association of Mizzan Quarter (in Sittwe) and the students & youths of Mizzan Duarter […]

State of the Word’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2014

Hate crime towards minorities and indigenous peoples is a daily reality across Asia but is often ignored by the governments of the region, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) warns in its annual report. This year’s flagship report, State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2014, is themed around ‘Freedom from Hate’ and shows that a worrying trend of vilification and hostility towards minorities and indigenous peoples has spread across the region.

A key aspect of hate crime and hate speech is its invisibility, especially when governments or societies overlook or tolerate entrenched patterns of discrimination against particular communities, says MRG. Across Asia, governments have failed to provide adequate protection to its minority and indigenous populations.

“Hate crimes have been able to flourish in Asia largely as a result of the complicity or support of politicians who stand to gain from the persecution of minorities,” says Mark Lattimer, MRG’s Executive Director. “Hate speech goes unchallenged and crimes are often under-acknowledged and under-reported, enabling perpetrators to operate with impunity.” […]

မဟာသႏၲိသုခ ေက်ာင္းေတာ္ႀကီးႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္၍ အစိုးရ၏ အဓမၼေျဖရွင္းမႈအေပၚ သေဘာထား ေၾကညာခ်က္ ထုတ္ျပန္ျခင္း

Report of Evidence Regarding Controversies at Letpadaung Hill Copper Mine Project

Executive Summary This report was prepared by Lawyers Network, an independent association of leading lawyers throughout Myanmar, and Justice Trust, an international group that supports national efforts to advance rule of law and human rights. It concerns recent controversies at a Letpadaung copper mine, a joint venture between Wanbao Mining, a subsidiary of North China […]

Violent Crackdown Against Buddhist Monks, New Regime with an Old Method

Thein Sein’s government has revealed its true colors with the surprisingly reckless and bloody crackdown on peaceful protesters in Monywa, Sagaing Region. The crackdown on the protest camps came at 3am, without any chance for the protesters to withdraw. It was an ambush and an old tactic that characterizes the old military regime that the world has been trying to believe has reformed.

The Letpadaung copper project near Monywa – the largest copper mine in Burma – is a joint venture between military-owned Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd., and Wan Bao, a unit of the weapons manufacturer China North Industries Corp. The project has been facing a growing objection since August by the local communities in the Letpadaung area who say the project has confiscated as many as 7,800 acres of land, forcing them out of their villages and ruining the environment.

Riot police aggressively dispersed protesters using water cannons, tear gas and, according to protesters, incendiary devices that set the camps on flames leaving at least 50 people injured by the fire. Many of those who were severely wounded were Buddhist monks […]