Bangkok Post

Yangon – Myanmar student rebels on Monday signed a ceasefire with the government, days before the 25th anniversary of the 1988 student-led uprising in the country.

More than 40 members of the outlawed All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF) attended the peace talks with the government in Yangon.

“We believe this is not the time to be fighting each other,” said Myo Win, vice chairman of ABSDF.

“Without a ceasefire, the political problems cannot be solved and we want to focus on the current political problems.”

He said the ABSDF will join Thursday’s commemoration in Yangon of the so-called 8888 Uprising, a series of marches and protests that began Aug 8, 1988, when students took to the streets in the former capital against the iron-fisted military rule of General Ne Win.

US Senator Mitch McConnell told Congress on August 1 that he has urged Myanmar to amend some clauses in its 2008 Constitution to promote national reconciliation and to guarantee civilian supremacy over the military. 

Senator McConnell also praised Myanmar for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, and for making peace with ethnic armed groups and holding the general election. He said many things still left to be done for the country’s reforms. The amendment of the constitution played an important role in the democratic reforms, he said.

McConnell said the current constitution goes against democratic systems. If Myanmar wants development for a next step and has close relations with the US, it needs to amend its constitution, he said.

Narinjara News

Protesting against the Burmese government’s policy for providing housing facilities to suspected citizens has put many Arakanese community leaders under trial. Various courts in Arakan State of western Burma are listening the cases against the community leaders who allegedly organized protest demonstrations against the government’s housing plan for the internally displaced people.

On 31 July, four community leaders namely Daw Ma Hla May, U Maung Win, Daw Tin Tin Aye and U Maung Thein Hlaing hailing from in Kyauk Taw, a town located at upper Kaladan river were presented before the court.

The police in charge of Kyauk Taw township registered a case against them as they reportedly led a protest programme on 7 March 2013 in the town without the authority’s permission.

BNI

The new political entity “Union of Burma” came to life in 1948, due to the Panglong Agreement in 1947. So it is first, the Panglong Agreement, followed by 1948 Constitution.

As all know, that successive military governments – Revolutionary Council, BSPP, SLORC, SPDC and now military-dominated Thein Sein regime – have failed to honour the Panglong Agreement, which is supposed to lead to a genuine federal system of governance.

Because of the military clique breaching the contractual obligation, the Union of Burma formed in 1948 is, in a legal sense, no more in existence. This brings us back to a pre-Panglong Agreement period, where political bargaining has to be restarted anew.

By ZARNI MANN

MANDALAY — As Burma shakes its decades-long isolation from the outside world and unleashes the forces of globalization and modernity, one artist says he fears for the resilience of the country’s traditional cultural mores.

“Although our country is moving forward to the modern world, we need to preserve our tradition and culture,” says Aye Myint, a respected Burmese designer.

Aye Myint, once responsible crafting the images on Burma’s currency, is now widely known for his traditional art designs, inspired largely by styles found in ancient stone carvings and murals in the country that date back to the sixth century.

by Asya Pereltsvaig

Thailand has been a major destination for migrants from the neighboring Burma (Myanmar) for decades. In the past, members of ethnic groups residing along the Thai-Burma border, such as the Karen, the Mon, and the Shan, often crossed the borders to visit friends, buy goods, or seek healthcare services. In the 1980s, under the military regime administration in Burma, this temporary migration continued unofficially even though border crossings were not officially allowed. A large number of asylum-seekers fighting against the government of Burma started to enter Thailand to take refuge in the same period. Since the 1990s, migrants from Burma, both members of ethnic minorities and Burmans, have come to Thailand mostly for economic reasons.