Bangkok Post

Myanmar’s reform-minded government may fall short of fulfilling its commitment to free all political prisoners by the end of this year, a member of the committee reviewing prisoners’status said on Saturday.

“The number of political prisoners is falling, but it will not reach zero because the authorities are detaining more and more activists,” said Bo Kyi, a member of the government-appointed committee.

During a visit to Britain in July, Myanmar President Thein Sein pledged to release all political prisoners remaining in Myanmar by the end of this year.

by Joshua Kurlantzick    

The visit on Wednesday by the United Nations’ special envoy to Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, to Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization, is a positive sign that the conflict in Kachin state might really be over. [Asia Times has a fine summary of Nambiar’s visit.] The peace deal between the KIO and the Myanmar government, signed in the spring, was obviously a major step forward to ending the decades-long conflict, but it did not provide real closure—it was not a final ceasefire. Among many Kachin leaders, there remained even after the peace deal signing a high degree of mistrust of both the central government and regional army commanders, who frequently, during past ceasefires, had gone over the government’s orders and launched their own attacks in Kachin state.

AFP/Yangon

Myanmar has jailed an activist for two years in connection with protests over a controversial mine project, her lawyer said yesterday, despite the regime’s pledge to free all political prisoners.

Naw Ohn Hla, 49, was convicted on Thursday for public order offences in the town of Monywa, where the Chinese-backed Letpadaung mine has triggered fierce opposition from local villagers.  The activist, who has been arrested a number of times in the past for her activities, was detained on August 13 after her request to stage a protest was denied, her lawyer Robert San Aung said.

Rights campaigners have expressed concern at the continuing arrest of activists opposed to the mine in recent months, despite a pledge by reformist President Thein Sein to free all political detainees by the end of this year.

By Richard S. Ehrlich

(RNS) Buddhists are killing Muslims in Myanmar with impunity because the government failed to stop the attacks, New York-based Physicians for Human Rights reported amid fresh assaults that left more Muslims homeless.

During the past year, scattered clashes across Buddhist-majority Myanmar, also known as Burma, have left more than 240 people dead, most of them Muslims.

A mob of about 1,000 Buddhists burned more than 35 Muslim homes and a dozen shops on August 24 in Kanbalu in Myanmar’s central Sagaing Division after hearing rumors that a Muslim man sexually assaulted a young Buddhist woman, police told The Associated Press.

Author: Human Rights Watch

Source: Human Rights Watch

Burma’s draft associations law fails to meet international human rights standards and should be significantly revised or discarded, Human Rights Watch said today. If passed in its current form, the law would permit excessive government control over civil society groups, hindering freedom of speech and association at the expense of Burma’s reform and development.

(Bangkok) – Burma’s draft associations law fails to meet international human rights standards and should be significantly revised or discarded, Human Rights Watch said today. If passed in its current form, the law would permit excessive government control over civil society groups, hindering freedom of speech and association at the expense of Burma’s reform and development.

Independent European Daily Express

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 27 (IPS) – One year after the government officially struck down laws obstructing free press in Myanmar, a parliamentary bill could allow previous censorship practices to re-surge.

When Thein Sein’s Union Solidarity and Development party government ended the last of the censorship laws in August last year, many hailed a new era of free expression and an end to the pressures placed on journalists over the previous half century.

Still, many journalists are concerned by the state of media reform in the country. Currently, a publishing bill that critics say gives the Ministry of Information (MOI) overly broad powers to issue and revoke publication licenses has been passed by the lower house of parliament and is set for consideration by the upper house.

By Barry Duke

“OF all the moral precepts instilled in Buddhist monks the promise not to kill comes first, and the principle of non-violence is arguably more central to Buddhism than any other major religion. So why have monks been using hate speech against Muslims and joining mobs that have left dozens dead?”

This question was posed in a BBC article published earlier this year.

    This is happening in two countries separated by well over 1,000 miles of Indian Ocean – Burma and Sri Lanka. It is puzzling because neither country is facing an Islamist militant threat. Muslims in both places are a generally peaceable and small minority.

    In Sri Lanka, the issue of halal slaughter has been a flashpoint. Led by monks, members of the Bodu Bala Sena – the Buddhist Brigade – hold rallies, call for direct action and the boycotting of Muslim businesses, and rail against the size of Muslim families.