The Burmese opposition movement in exile on Friday attempted to counter what it called “misunderstandings” of its position on aid to Burma by issuing a policy paper stating that sanctions and humanitarian work can-and should-be used together.
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Asian and Western foreign ministers censured Myanmar Friday over its failure to fulfill promised democratic reforms, delivering a final reproach in a week that saw the military regime pummeled by criticism from fellow Southeast Asian nations.
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Women activists would do well to focus their efforts on the inclusion of proportional representation (PR) rather than fighting for a 30 percent quota system in the federal constitution being drafted by the Opposition, said Sao Sengsuk, who heads the Shan State Constitution Drafting Commission (SSCDC) yesterday.
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Organisations campaigning for democracy in Burma, today released a position paper: Pro-Aid, Pro-Sanctions, Pro-Engagement, detailing their policy on humanitarian assistance to the country. The position paper has been published, in part, to rebut attempts by anti-sanctions advocates to portray those supporting targeted economic sanctions as being opposed to humanitarian assistance. The paper also provides a clear outline of the broader policy platform shared by Burma’s international democracy movement.
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The mayor of Rangoon, Brig-Gen Aung Thein Lin, has ordered tight controls over the sale of rice in a bid to combat steep price rises and to ensure a steady supply of the basic foodstuff to the city’s households.
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Myanmar’s foreign minister indicated Thursday that his military government will announce by the end of the year its likely schedule for drafting a Constitution touted as the first step in its road map to democracy.
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Text of report by Norway-based Burmese Democratic Voice of Burma website on 25 July.  A West Rangoon University student told DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] that the authorities have stepped up their monitoring of students as the 18th anniversary of 8-8-88 mass democracy uprising on 8 August approaches.
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The Indo-Myanmar Border Traders’ Union has called on the governor of Manipur to stop a central government plan to divert the border trade route from Burma to Moreh through a different state.
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Excerpt from report by Bede Hong carried in English by Malaysian website Malaysiakini on 26 July; subheading as published
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Myanmar has outlined some measures to be followed by fish farmers for boosting fishery production in the country, sources with the Fishery Department said on Thursday.
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Border trade between Thailand and Burma has slumped after the Burmese government tightened import and export rules to deal with rising inflation and soaring diesel prices. At least 20 Burmese merchants in Myawaddy, which is close to Tak’s Mae Sot district, have been arrested by Burmese officials who seized goods they had brought from Thailand.
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Officials from 11 Asian countries, including Burma, met in New Delhi today for a two-day discussion on ways to tackle bird flu outbreaks.
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Malaysia, the host for a meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations, yesterday denied that the group had backed down from confronting Burma over its poor human rights record in spite of issuing a watered-down statement on the issue.
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India wants to see democracy in Myanmar, but doesn’t favor pressuring its military junta while the world turns a blind eye to other dictatorships and undemocratic governments in the region, an Indian minister said Thursday.
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Shortly after the second UN Security Council briefing on Burma on May 31, the US confidently declared that a resolution would be circulated among the chamber’s 15 members. Results were anticipated within a matter of weeks, but two months later Ambassador John Bolton’s office maintains silence on the issue.
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Myanmar is finding at key Southeast Asian talks here that its behavior is “way out of line” with its fellow members, the United States said Thursday.
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One of the spokesmen of the NLD, Nyan Win gave his reaction on the prospect of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) taking action against Burma, as follows:
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July 25: On 18 July 2006, Wai Phyo (alias) Phyo Wai Win, a first year physics student at Myingyan College was beaten with sticks and knives by the cronies and golf buddies of the Myingyan District Peace and Development Council’s president, Major Htun Win.
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Police officers on duty at Rangoon Insein Ywama Police Station have been detaining people on suspicion alone and torturing them, according to local residents.
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A university student from Myingyan, Mandalay Division in central Burma, was assaulted with sticks and machetes by the henchmen of district authority chairman for no obvious reason, on 18 July.
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