Myanmar announces release of political prisoners
Myanmar has released dozens of political prisoners, mostly members of ethnic organizations, as peace talks are held with Kachin rebels. The move comes ahead of a high profile regional summit in Brunei.
Of those who were released, some 18 were said to be Kachin rebels, with detainees from other ethnic groups also among those freed. The activist group Former Political Prisoners said some of those released on Tuesday were also believed to be from the eastern Shan state.
“Most of the 56 prisoners released today are members of ethnic organizations,” said Aung Min, a minister from the president’s office.
In a speech made on a trip to Britain in July, President Thein Sein promised that all political detainees would be freed by the end of the year.Critics question Myanmar’s readiness to head ASEAN
By Pitman (AP)
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) — Just a few years ago Myanmar was an isolated dictatorship that embarrassed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with its dismal human rights record. Now it’s poised to take over leadership of the 10-nation bloc for the first time — a move critics say may be premature given conflicts at home that have left hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced.
The appointment of Myanmar to ASEAN’s chairmanship is meant to reward the former pariah’s transformation since its military junta turned over power to an elected government two years ago, and some are hopeful that putting the spotlight on Myanmar will serve as further incentive for reform.
But Myanmar still has a long way to go. Last week, smoke and flames rose once again from the twisted wreckage of charred Muslim homes and mosques ransacked by machete-wielding Buddhist mobs, this time in Thandwe in western Rakhine state, where five people were killed — one of them a 94-year-old Muslim woman who was too frail to flee.Myanmar’s ruling party warns of danger in event of constitution redrawing
Global Times
Myanmar’s ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Saturday warned of grave danger and bad consequences if the 2008 constitution is abolished and redrawn.
The country and the people will suffer the consequences arising from the move, said an announcement of the party’s Constitution Amendment Committee.
Myanmar’s parliament set up a 109-member Constitution Review Joint Committee in July with the deputy speaker of the Union Parliament as chairman, and it is represented proportionally by parliament members of both Houses, political parties, military MPs and individuals.Hotel Myanmar or the Unfolding Genocide in President Thein Sein’s Myanmar
By Dr. Maung Zarni
“We (Buddhist sons of the Land) are here to burn down the houses of all Muslim (Kalar or “niggers”), and remove these ‘guests’ from our soil.
You brothers, in our security forces, are invited to join us in this national defense, the defense of our Buddhist faith!”
A scene of “Buddhist” mob carrying an official tri-color government flag (adopted in 2010), marching to a targeted Muslim villages, being stopped by the local troops, who are NOT really empowered by Naypyidaw Thein Sein’s government to use force, if necessary, to prevent any organized mass atrocities against the Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds.
This is definitely Hotel Rwanda.New Zealand reaffirms support to Myanmar’s democratization
South Asia Revealed
New Zealand has reaffirmed to continue providing aid to Myanmar’s democratization process, official media reported Saturday.
It was pledged by visiting Speaker of the House of Representatives of New Zealand David Carter when he called on Myanmar President U Thein Sein at the Presidential Palace in Nay Pyi Taw Friday.
U Thein Sein thanked New Zealand’s constant support for Myanmar ‘s reform and stance in the international arena.Letter from America: U.S. Congressional Hearing on Burma -2
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui
The House Foreign Affairs/Asia Sub-committee of the U.S. Congress recently held a hearing to examine the current political environment inside Burma (Myanmar), the growing human right abuses among its ethnic groups, and assess U.S. policy towards the country. The sub-committee was also interested to assess the Obama Administration’s decision to start military-to-military relations with Burma.
I find the decision of the Obama administration quite problematic for a plethora of reasons:Press Releases
Press Release:Statement of ARNO on the report of CSW: Visit to the Bangladesh-Burma Border
September 29 2008
We express our full support to the report of Christian Solidarity World Wide, Visit to the Bangladesh-Burma Border, released on 9 September 2008. This report is based on first hand information on the plight of the Rohingya people in Burma. It substantiates the fact that the Rohingya are living in a hostile environment in their ancestral homeland of Arakan. As the report says “it is first-hand account of the oppression of Muslim Rohingya people in Burma, including denial of full citizenship rights, severe restrictions on freedom of movement, marriage and religion, forced labour, rape, land confiscation, arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings and extortion on a daily basis.”
Press Release: Statement of ARNO on 8888
8th August 2008
Twenty years ago, on this day of 8th August 1988, millions of Burmese people took to the streets across the country demanding an end to long military rule, restoration of democracy and human rights in Burma. But the military started brutal crackdowns and killed an estimated 3000 peaceful demonstrators nationwide. Till today there has been no independent investigation conducted against the military for these brutal acts.
Press Release:SPDC should postpone it sham referendum
(8 May 2008)
We express our deep concern that cyclone Nargis is an unprecedented disaster that had left hundreds of thousands of Burmese people dead, homeless and missing. Due to lack of press freedom, the extent of sufferings in terms of human and material losses could not be ascertained yet. However, at least 100,000 people are confirmed to be dead while 45,000 missing. It affected nearly 50% of the Burma’s 55 million population. Irrawaddy region is the worst hit area.
Statement on the SPDCs referendum
29th February 2008
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation strongly condemns the State Peace and Development Council for its announcement of 1/2008, 2/2008, and 3/2008 about holding of referendum on its draft constitution in May 2008.
In This Issue:
- Editorial: Rohingyas are in a geopolitical crossroad: Global Powers and Competing Interests
- Rohingya Resilience in Exile: Rebuilding Lives in Refugee Camps
- Containing Arakan Army: A Security Imperative for Myanmar and Bangladesh
- Ending Digital Violence against Women and Girls
- Myanmar’s Election: Conflict, Exclusion, and a Crisis of Legitimacy
- Rohingya Families in Maungdaw Prepare to Flee Amid Forced Conscription Fears
- Arakan Army Orders Rohingya to Surrender Household Registration Lists
- Fire Tears Through Rohingya Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Injuring Three Children and Destroying Dozens of Shelters
- Rohingya Men and Women Forced to Join Armed Group in Maungdaw
- ARNO Welcomes UN Third Committee Resolution on Rohingya Rights, Demands Accountability for Armed-Group Abuses
Reports
Arakan, Displaced
By Francis Wade
Several minutes into President Obama’s speech at Rangoon University in early November, Burmese state television channels that were broadcasting the historic occasion – the first visit to Burma by a U.S. president – cut their simultaneous translations. Unbeknown to non-English speaking viewers, Obama had begun steering the speech into uncomfortable territory, touching on continued Burmese army offensives in Kachin state and the ethno-religious violence in Arakan state. In broaching the two topics, he knew he was taking on Burma’s rulers and a sizeable proportion of the country’s population. “For too long, the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine [Arakanese], have faced crushing poverty and persecution,” he said of the latter. “But there is no excuse for violence against innocent people. And the Rohingya hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do.”
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