Calls for DFID Burma Census Inquiry Top 1,000

More than a thousand people have written to Justine Greening, Secretary of State for International Development, calling for an inquiry into why the Department for International Development (DFID) spent 10m on Burma’s disastrous census earlier this year. DFID has not yet responded to these calls […]

Burma Government Must End Impunity and Promote Religious Tolerance

This week, mosques, schools and shops were burnt down, Muslims populations displaced, people injured and killed, and journalists attacked. These dramatic events are now common news coming out of Burma. In the last three months, religious violence took place in more than 18 townships hundreds of kilometers apart from each other, more than 44 people died, and more than 13,000 have been displaced. Yet, no appropriate actions have been taken to halt the spread of violence, extremist religious views and distrust among communities.

On 28 and 29 May, violence spread to Lashio, Shan State, where one Muslim was killed and four Buddhists wounded. Mobs of young men on motorcycles roamed the city with swords, destroying shops and shouting they would “kill any Muslims they see on the road.” Two Democratic Voice of Burma reporters were injured and their SIM cards stolen. The police again failed to stop the violence and protect the population. According to a New York Times source, the first police units arrived two hours after the violence started and did not confront the rioters. More than 1,400 Muslims were displaced and found shelter in a Buddhist temple. On the night of 29 May, violence spread to the town of Mone in Kyauk Gyi Township, Pegu Region, where mobs destroyed a mosque and madrasa.

Shan State Earthquake Relief Project

As many of you are already aware, a large earthquake (6.8 magnitude) occurred last Thursday evening in eastern Shan State. The quake was strong enough that we could feel it at our library in Chiang Mai. Luckily, there were no deaths and no major damage here in Chiang Mai. However, the number of casualties in Shan State is believed to be more than 200. A number of townships suffered widespread destruction, and hundreds — possibly thousands — of villagers were injured and have lost their homes.

The emergency response from the ‘government’ in Burma has been very slow and characteristically paranoid. Burma’s leaders are more concerned with limiting access to to journalists and relief workers than making sure the people who need help receive it quickly. Similar to the regime’s response after Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the government is requesting that international organizations only donate directly to the central government, but as we have learned in the past, it is unwise to trust the regime to deliver donated aid fully and efficiently.

Here at The Best Friend, we are working quickly to implement an ambitious fundraising campaign to raise money for organizations that have direct access to the affected areas in Shan State, and can help the people inside: the Shan State Earthquake Relief Project […]

Shan artists pool talent to expose sham 2010 elections

Famous Shan artists are today taking to the stage on the Shan-Thai border to officially launch a new VCD opposing the 2010 elections, already an underground hit in Shan State.

The Shan language VCD, produced by border-based community groups, features well-known artists singing modern and traditional songs, illustrated with striking video images and cartoons […]

Shan analysts: Junta militias emerging as new drug lords in Burma

Pro-junta militias operating in Shan State are now the main players in the drug trade, according to new findings by local Shan analysts.

The latest Shan Drug Watch newsletter, issued today, details how the Burmese regime’s War on Drugs has fallen way behind schedule, with 46 of Shan State’s 55 townships still growing opium. This is attributed to the Burma Army’s reliance on taxation of opium, and its policy to allow numerous proxy local militia to deal in drugs, including methamphetamines, in exchange for policing against resistance activity […]

Shan Drug Watch Issue 3

Poppy cultivation is continuing unchecked in 46 of the 55 Shan townships, mostly in areas under the control of the Burma Army and its militias. However, adverse weather conditions caused a massive drop in opium output during the last season. In other words, there is no evidence of sustained effort by the Burmese regime to eradicate opium. On the contrary, opium farmers throughout the state are being taxed by Burma Army units […]

Palaung Women’s Organization launches report on surging opium cultivation in Burma

The Palaung Women’s Organization cordially invites you to the launching of our new report, Poisoned Hills: Surging Opium Cultivation under Government Control in Burma, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok, January 26, 2010 at 10:30 am. Please join us as we discuss the pressing issue of opium cultivation in Burma’s northern […]

Holding Our Ground: Land Confiscation in Arakan & Mon States, and Pa-O Area of Southern Shan State

A report outlining land confiscation in three areas of the country – Arakan State, Mon State and the Pa-O Area of southern Shan State – where the brutal treatment of civilians at the hand of the military junta has been under documented.