Smattering of Rangoon Protesters Greet Thai PM Over Koh Tao Murder Case

RANGOON — A smattering of Burmese activists held two days of protests against the arrest of a pair of Burmese migrants accused of murdering two tourists on southern Thailand’s Koh Tao island last month, as Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrived in Rangoon on Friday for the second day of his first overseas trip since taking the helm of the military-ruled country.

A group of about 20 Burmese led by the Movement for Democracy Current Force held a protest and prayer vigil at downtown Rangoon’s Sule Pagoda on Thursday evening, holding placards that urged the former general turned prime minister “to let the accused two Burmese receive the benefit of the doubt.” […]

Michaungkan Protestors Stand Fast as Deadline Passes

As Saturday dawned, dozens of protestors from the Rangoon suburb of Michaungkan, who have been conducting a vigil outside Maha Bandula Park in the city centre to protest land grabs, were still occupying the public street despite a 3 October deadline ordered by local police to dismantle their camp and leave.

As Friday’s deadline struck, police did not appear at the protest site where many feared that force might once again be used to disperse the villagers […]

Monywa Students Protest Education Bill

Students from Monywa University in Sagaing Division on Wednesday launched a campaign opposing the National Education Bill.

The controversial bill, passed by parliament at the end of July, has been a subject of criticism among educators and students alike. Several student protests have been held around the country, claiming that the new bill would centralise decision-making and grant too much power to the Ministry of Education […]

Arrest of Student on Trumped-up Charges is a Damning Indictment of Justice in Burma

On 13 September 2014, police arrested female human rights defender (HRD) Phyu Hnin Htwe at her house in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, and sent her to Monywa Prison, Sagaing Region, where she is currently being detained. Phyu Hnin Htwe is a second-year Burmese student at Mandalay’s Yadanabon University, and is also an activist and member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU). She has helped farmers who have been forcibly evicted to make way for the infamous Chinese-backed Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region, going to the Letpadaung area at weekends and supporting displaced farmers.
Her arrest ostensibly relates to a murky incident that took place on 18 May of this year. Two Chinese workers – employees of Wanbao company, the main company involved in the joint venture – were seized from the Letpadaung area, taken to a monastery in Hsete Village, and held there for about 30 hours. The incident followed efforts by Wanbao employees to restart measuring plots of land for which compensation had not even been provided, in spite of villagers’ protests, thereby provoking their anger.

As a result, Phyu Hnin Htwe and six villagers were charged with kidnapping and abduction under Articles 364 and 368 of the Penal Code, which prescribe sentences of up to ten years’ imprisonment. While the case against five of the villagers was quickly dropped, charges still remain against Phyu Hnin Htwe and local villager Win Kyaw, neither of whom attended court in May […]

20 Injured in Clash with Police at Closed Korean factory

About 20 former employees of the now defunct Master Sports footwear factory were injured during a standoff with police after they held an official captive at the facility on Tuesday.

A group of workers came to the Rangoon factory on 16 September to negotiate with representatives of the Department of Labour, which was tasked with carrying out an August court ruling that the workers should receive compensation for sudden dismissal […]

Teachers’ and Students’ Organizations Join Up to Oppose Education Bill

RANGOON — The Myanmar Teachers’ Federation (MTF) said it plans to cooperate with students’ organizations and join their protests against the National Education Bill if the proposed legislation is not revised in Parliament in the coming weeks.

The MTF also called on authorities to stop their criminal investigations into recent, unauthorized student protests against the bill […]

Myanmar Villagers Demand Release of Student Activist

Hundreds of villagers in northern Myanmar, also known as Burma, have staged protests to demand the release of a student activist who was involved in the brief abduction of two workers at a Chinese copper mine this year.

A monk in the Letpadaung area tells VOA that 500 to 600 locals staged peaceful protests in several villages Monday seeking the release of Phyu Hnin Htway, who was detained Saturday […]

University Students Union Opposes Education Bill

The University Students Union released a statement on Wednesday denouncing the National Education Bill; at the same time it launched an awareness campaign in front of the University for Computer Studies, 25km north of Rangoon.

A spokesperson for the students’ union, commonly known in Burma as the ta-ka-tha, said the event was not a demonstration but rather “a gathering to raise awareness about the weaknesses of the education bill”, and that they had timed it to meet students who were entering the campus to sit for exams on Wednesday morning […]

Namkham Farmers’ Protest Highlights Urgent Need for Moratorium on Resource Extraction during Peace Process

The anti-mining protest by over 3,000 villagers in Namkham, northern Shan State, on September 5, 2014, highlights the lack of protection against damaging mining, and the urgent need for a moratorium on resource extraction in ethnic areas until there is genuine political reform and peace in Burma […]

Sagaing Students Protest Controversial Education Bill

Burmese university students stood their ground and protested on Monday against the controversial draft of the National Education Bill, which was approved by the Union Parliament on 30 July.

More than 30 students from the Sagaing Art and Science University, Technical University and Cooperative University participated in the rally, which was allowed to proceed without intervention by local authorities […]