UK Must Double Refugee Funding In Response To Suu Kyi Call

Burma Campaign UK today called on Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, to respond to Aung San Suu Kyi’s call in her Nobel Peace Prize speech for increased funding for refugees from Burma by doubling funding for the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), which provides food and shelter to the refugees […]

Burma Has Two Faces, One for the International Community and One for the Ethnic People

“Suu Kyi represents hope for so many people. There’s going to be huge crowd of people who will come to see her. It’s going to be an exciting day for us,” said Saw Tun Tun, chairman of Mae La Refugee Camp Committee, ahead of Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi’s visit. And it was an exciting day. On Saturday thousands of people gathered in Mae La camp on the Thai-Burma border to welcome “The Lady.” In Mae Sot, the city of activists and exiles from Burma, her pictures are usually everywhere in restaurants, teashops, houses. Saturday, her pictures were on the streets as people gathered along the roads to welcome her and get a chance to get a glimpse at “Mother Suu.”

Daw Suu’s visit is hugely symbolic and was a rare occasion to put Burma migrant workers and refugees in the spotlight. Her visit conveyed lots of hope as Win Aung, a migrant worker who lost his hand in an accident at a Thai-run shoe factory said, “She can’t force the Thai government to do anything, but she can speak on our behalf better than anybody else.”

Daw Suu’s first trip abroad in 24 years was also an occasion for her to address the international community at the World Economic Forum in Bangkok and to remind the leaders of the world that Burma’s so-called transition is still very fragile. “These days I am coming across what I call reckless optimism. A little bit of healthy skepticism I think is in order,” said Daw Suu at the forum […]

An Open Letter to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Dear Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,

We, the Karen Women Organization are deeply heartened to see you travel outside of Burma with the confidence that you will be able to speak freely and return home safely. We understand you are attending and addressing the World Economic Forum in Bangkok and that a visit to the border might be possible. We would like to extend an invitation to you to visit a refugee camp on the Burma border so that our community can share with you our hopes and concerns about returning to Burma […]

Untold Miseries: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State

In his March 2011 inauguration speech, Burmese President Thein Sein emphasized the importance of ending Burma’s several ethnic armed conflicts, declaring that more than 60 years of ethnic warfare in Burma were due to “dogmatism, sectarian strife, and racism.” Burma’s ethnic minorities had, he said […]

Burma: Reforms Yet to Reach Kachin State

The Burmese government has committed serious abuses and blocked humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians since June 2011, in fighting in Burma’s northern Kachin State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today […]

Unending Brutal crackdown on Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrant

The brutal crackdown on refugees, asylum seekers and migrants has been on the rise and unending. The Home Ministry recently had announced the extension to register under the 6P to 10 April 2012, despite that refugees […]

Separated by Borders: United By Need, An Assessment of Reproductive Health on the Thai-Burma Border

The region of eastern Burma is mired in conflict and human rights abuses. The former Myanmar military junta and the new civilian government, are responsible for widespread human rights violations throughout […]

Statement by the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission

A four-member team of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission headed by its Secretary visited Kachin State from 8 to 10 December 2011 in order to observe at first hand the civil population […]

Burma Government Blocks British Aid To Ethnic Refugees

As Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, visits Burma this week, Burma Campaign UK called on him to do more to ensure British aid reaches internal refugees who have fled increased attacks by the Burmese Army in the past year […]

Displacement and Poverty in South East Burma / Myanmar

A new government in Burma/Myanmar offers the possibility of national reconciliation and reform after decades of conflict. Every opportunity to resolve grievances, alleviate chronic poverty and restore justice must be seized, as there remain many obstacles to breaking […]