by Nehginpao Kipgen

After years of advocacy efforts, the Myanmar government is beginning to act on its 2008 constitution. The parliament, a legislative body which is responsible for constitutional amendment, formed a 109-member committee on July 25 to review the country’s constitution.

The committee includes lawmakers from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and President Thein Sein’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), along with representatives from the 25 percent of seats allotted to the military.

The constitutional amendment, among others, is an attempt to address the lingering concerns surrounding two most pressing needs of the country – to remove or modify the clause that prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming the country’s president, and allowing states to choose their own chief ministers.

I will argue why Myanmar needs constitutional changes for its own good on two fronts: domestic and international.

Hueiyen News Service/Imphal, Aug 1: Decrying the loss of large territory of Manipur to Myanmar as a result of the ongoing Indo-Myanmar border fencing, Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI), Manipur State Council Dr M Nara has cautioned that the State government not to give even an inch of land of the State to Myanmar.

Addressing media persons at Irawat Bhavan here today, Dr Nara questioned the motive of Indian Government for taking up border fencing works before the boundaries are not properly settled with the neighbouring country. The State Government should be proactive to urge the Centre to stop the ongoing border fencing works and settle the border issues amicably, he averred.

Associated Press

RALEIGH — A group of students from a Christian school in Raleigh is expanding its relationship with the Burmese refugees they’re trying to help assimilate to life in the U.S.

Students and teachers from Neuse Christian Academy hosted members of the Karen Thursday to kick off a series of English language classes which will include life skills coaching once a week for the next 12 weeks. The class is being funded through a grant provided by Belk, Inc.

The refugees also met with retired Raleigh police officers, who will show them how to obtain a driver’s license.

The Burmese refugees have been granted temporary asylum in the U.S. after fleeing years of violence against their sect.

U Pa Pa Lay had prostate cancer

 U Pa Pa Lay – the Burmese comedian twice jailed for criticising his country’s ruling junta – has died at the age of 67.

The comic, part of the satirical Moustache Brothers trio, became a cause celebre for campaigners at Amnesty International after he was persecuted for his jokes.

U Pa Pa Lay – who had a 30-year career as a comedian – was first jailed in 1990 for six months for criticising the regime’s refusal to recognise the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party in landmark democratic elections.

By Niels Lesniewski

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell quietly weighed in on one of his long-standing priorities Thursday — the country of Myanmar.

The Kentucky Republican has long taken an interest in the Southeast Asian country, being among the leading voices against the repressive military junta that first took power in the late 1980s. Recent pro-democratic reforms led McConnell to announce in May that he wouldn’t push to continue U.S. sanctions against the Myanmar government.

McConnell’s a former chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for the State Department’s budget.

On Thursday, McConnell inserted a detailed statement in the Congressional Record outlining four priorities for an overhaul of the country’s constitution, including establishing civilian control of military forces.

By LAWI WENG

RANGOON — A group of Burmese activists is boycotting a Silver Jubilee event next week to commemorate the country’s 1988 pro-democracy uprising because former military generals from the government have been invited to attend.

Members of the All Burma Federation of Students Unions (ABFSU) have resigned from the jubilee’s organizing committee and will not participate in the event next week, saying that the former generals participated in the crackdown on student protesters 25 years ago and should be forced to apologize to the families of victims.

“We decided not to attend the event, and even to resign from the working committee for the event, after we hosted last week’s meeting,” Kyaw Ko Ko, a leader from the ABFSU, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. “The majority of our group voted not to attend because military generals who were involved in the killings will be there.”

Susan Lavery and Parameswaran Ponnudurai

A top adviser to U.S. President Barak Obama emphasized Thursday that reforming Myanmar’s military-written constitution is critical to having free and fair elections in 2015.

White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said that constitutional reform would allow the people of Myanmar to elect whoever they liked and protect human rights, which under the previous military junta were among the worst in the world.

Rhodes was speaking to reporters in Yangon after meetings with civil society and government officials and business leaders.

His statement came as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi called for greater political commitment to amend the constitution, which was formulated by the previous military junta in 2008 and prevents the Nobel laureate from becoming president.