Rally for the Commemoration of 4th years of Saffron Revolution: We Want Real Change for Burma

On the 4th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, Solidaritas Indonesia for ASEAN People (SIAP), KontraS, Imparsial, FPPI, PBHI,LBH Pers and YLBHI, as Indonesian civil society who is also part of the community of the ASEAN people […]

Activists Demand Real Change in Burma Rather than the Regime’s “Charm Offensive”

In September 2007, the world witnessed Burma regime’s violent crackdown on the thousands of monks and people from Burma peacefully demonstrating for change in Burma. Four years later, 2,000 political prisoners including 222 monks remain behind bars. Those responsible for the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in 2007 are still in power behind a democratic façade thanks to the sham elections in 2010. They continue to run the country with impunity, free to continue committing serious human rights violations, especially in ethnic areas.

To remember those who sacrificed their lives for their country and to remind the world to keep an eye on what’s happening in Burma, as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asked this week, groups inside Burma and around the world are hosting events calling on the international community to maintain pressure on Burma’s regime until it carries out genuine democratic transition, beginning with the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and bringing an end to impunity for human rights abusers […]

Leaked internal report reveals the staggering scale of those arrested during Saffron

On this day, the 4th anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, a leaked internal document from the Special Branch of the police force reveals for the first time the exact number of those who were arrested and detained during Saffron […]

Many News Websites Unblocked, but 17 Journalists and Three Netizens Still Held

Reporters Without Borders has confirmed that access to a number of previously banned foreign news websites including Youtube, BBC, Reuters, The Bangkok Post, Straits Times, Radio Free Asia, Irrawaddy, Democratic Voice of Burma, and the Burmese version of Voice of America has been unblocked. Internet connections nonetheless continue to be very slow […]

AAPP Requests the Early Release of Terminally Ill Political Prisoner

AAPP strongly urges the U Thein Sein government the immediate and unconditional release of a critically ill political prisoner. Ko Zaw Lin Tun, a leading member of the All Burma Student Federation Union (ABSFU), is currently suffering from a barrage of grave health conditions, including: tuberculosis […]

Press Statement of Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma

Mingalaba. Good Morning. Let me read a brief prepared statement. I have just completed my first visit to Burma as U.S. Special Representative and Policy Coordinator. I have spent the past five days in intensive consultations with a full spectrum of interlocutors […]

Demonstrations for Real Change in Burma Continue Despite Regime’s “Charm Offensive”

In a continuation of its recent attempts at improving its public image, Burma’s regime officially established a national human rights commission (NHRC) on 5 September. The commission was formed “with a view to promoting and safeguarding fundamental rights of citizens described in the constitution”. Given that the NHRC will be headed by retired ambassadors Win Mra and Kyaw Tint Swe, who have previously denied well documented human rights abuses committed by the military regime, it is hard to believe that the commission will actually take measures to end the commission of crimes against the people of Burma. Additionally, given that the commission is explicitly based upon the 2008 constitution, which enshrines impunity for military and civilian leaders, its ability to provide justice and accountability is inherently limited […]

World Wide Protest for Hla Hla Win’s Release

The Free Burma VJ campaign on 9 September protested in front of the Burmese embassy in Bangkok to call for the release of jailed Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) video-journalist (VJ), Hla Hla Win […]

Burma Briefing No. 15: Events in Burma – New or Recycled?

This briefing analyses recent events in Burma, many of which have been hailed as ‘new’, ‘unprecedented’ and ‘progress’. It finds that most of what has taken place in recent months is not new at all, and that Thein Sein is borrowing ideas from his predecessors, Than Shwe and Ne Win […]

Calling for the Release of All Political Prisoners Towards National Reconciliation in Burma

We, members of the Indian Parliamentarians’ Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB), would like to remind you that even after the General Elections in November 2010 and despite hopes that the newly-formed government could tackle the issue of political prisoners […]