BBC Monitoring

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was long considered a pariah state, isolated from the rest of the world with an appalling human rights record.

From 1962 to 2011, the country was ruled by a military junta that suppressed almost all dissent and wielded absolute power in the face of international condemnation and sanctions.

The generals who ran the country stood accused of gross human rights abuses, including the forcible relocation of civilians and the widespread use of forced labour, including children.

The first general election in 20 years was held in 2010. This was hailed by the junta as an important step in the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy, though opposition groups alleged widespread fraud and condemned the election as a sham.

By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY

RANGOON—Former political prisoners who survived detention on Great Coco Island, a notorious penal colony off Burma’s mainland, have criticized the country’s reform efforts, saying the Burmese people have yet to see real change under a government that remains largely controlled by the military.

At a ceremony in Rangoon on Wednesday to honor prisoners who died inside the island’s now-shuttered detention center, Hla Nyo, a former prisoner, condemned the administration of President Thein Sein, who served as prime minister under the previous military junta.

“President Thein Sein said his government brought democracy to our country, but there are people whose land has since been confiscated,” the former prisoner said, 42 years after the penal colony was closed down following a series of hunger strikes to protest harsh conditions there. Inmates were then sent to Rangoon’s Insein Prison.

By Zin Linn

Burma’s President Thein Sein received a British delegation led by Speaker of the House of Commons, UK Parliament Mr. John Bercow and party at the Credentials Hall of the Presidential Palace in Nay-Pyi-Taw on Tuesday, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said today. The British Speaker of the House of Commons was accompanied by six parliamentarians of UK Parliament.

According to the newspaper, President Thein Sein and Mr Bercow had discussions on the release of political prisoners as well as taking penalizing actions against those involved in the conflicts between the two communities in Rakhine State and some other districts.  The two also talked about some issues such as humanitarian assistance to victims in conflict-stricken areas, constitutional amendments, humanitarian assistance for victims in Kachin State and peacemaking development to terminate domestic armed conflicts.

Kate Hodal

Footage emerges of police failing to prevent violence in Burma as EU prepares to lift all sanctions permanently

Video footage has emerged showing Burmese police standing by as Buddhist mobs wielding sticks and swords attack Muslims in Meikhtila – where last month more than 40 people were killed and 12,000 displaced – on the same day that the EU is expected to permanently lift all sanctions against the country.

The footage, apparently shot by police officers, shows Buddhist crowds looting and ransacking a Muslim jewellery shop, cheering when Muslims are attacked, and setting fire to mosques and houses. Later, a man who has been set alight and is believed to be Muslim can be seen lying in the road, surrounded by a crowd of people. “Pour water on him,” a man in the crowd commands. “Let him die,” shouts another. “No water for him.”

Both Buddhist monks and police can be seen through much of the footage – the monks often taking part in the violence, the police watching immobile as it progresses.

LONDON, July 31 (UPI) — A British delegate said Wednesday before leaving for Myanmar he was “very concerned” about the status of reforms under way in the country.

Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow leads a delegation of British lawmakers this week to Myanmar, known also as Burma. He said he’s expected to meet pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, policy makers and members of civil society during his visit.

Myanmar President Thein Sein, a former military commander, was feted in London by British Prime Minister David Cameron mid-July. Cameron congratulated the leader for democratic reforms embraced since 2010 general elections, though he expressed concern about violence targeting the minority Muslim community in the coastal state of Rakhine.

Associated Press

MANDALAY, Myanmar // It’s been two years since Myanmar’s new government promised its people a more open way of life, but still they come, plainclothes state intelligence officers asking where former student activist Mya Aye is and when he’ll be back.

Politicians, journalists, writers, diplomats, too, find themselves being watched: Men on motorcycles tailing closely. The occasional phone call. The same, familiar faces at crowded street cafes.

“It’s not as bad as it used to be,” said Mya Aye, who devotes much of his time today campaigning for citizens’ rights, “but it’s really annoying. They act like we’re criminals, harassing us, our families. It’s disrespectful and intimidating. It shouldn’t be this way anymore.”

Andrew Friedman

The rapid political reform of Myanmar’s leadership has earned the country a reputation as a “development darling,” a country quickly changing from an international pariah to a beacon of opportunity. But, as we have seen with historical “darlings,” the positive steps of reform (and the media coverage of them) can often hide widespread human rights violations.

In 2009, the Obama administration began a policy of engagement with Myanmar, which led to a string of diplomatic successes. Since then, the country’s military junta has retired, elections were held for the first time in 20 years, and a number of political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, were released. The United States greeted such changes by systematically easing economic sanctions, and increasing diplomatic contact. In late 2011, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Myanmar, becoming the first senior American official to visit the country in more than 50 years. Clinton’s trip was followed by an unprecedented November 2012 visit by President Barack Obama, making him the first sitting U.S. president to enter the formerly reclusive Southeast Asian state.