April 12: With the review of the European Union’s common position on Burma [Myanmar] due later this month, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European commissioner for external relations, urgently needs lessons about one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world.
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April 26: Brussels: The ITUC has welcomed a decision on April 26 by the Defence Minister in Belgium, André Flahaut, in his capacity as Acting Justice Minister, to use his authority under Belgian law to re-launch legal proceedings brought by four Burmese refugees against oil company TotalFina.
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Rights activist Ko Myint Naing, who was bashed by a crowd of people in Irrawaddy’s Henzada township on April 18, has confirmed that government-backed officials were involved.
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A solo protester was arrested by police in Rangoon yesterday afternoon as he was staging a demonstration against the Burmese military junta, stated a report.
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The release of a report by the Karen Human Rights Group this week suggesting that UN agencies working in Burma in oppressed rural communities are helping to keep the military regime in power was challenged by the UN yesterday.
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Mr. Conor Leniham T. D, Ireland’s Minister of State has demanded that the Burmese military regime put a stop to serious human rights violations against its civilians. On Tuesday he met representatives of Burmese in exile in Dublin.
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Two men were given stiff prison sentences on Wednesday in a court in Nyaungdon Township of Irrawaddy Division for possessing a video of a private wedding of the daughter of Burma’s top leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe. The court sentenced Than Htun to four years and six months and Tin Htay to two years, according to a daughter of Tin Htay.
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Responding to reaction from the United Nations Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma critical of a recent publication, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) has issued a statement defending the method and validity of its report.
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April 25: One woman migrant died and 13 women from among 18 migrant workers were sent to prison in Takuapa, southern Thailand after the vehicle they were travelling in hit an electric pole on Sunday. The migrants included three men, and two children, a girl and a boy from Karen State.
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The EU is continuing to exert pressure on the junta in power in Burma-Myanmar by renewing its sanctions during the External Relations Council held on 23 April in Luxembourg.
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April 25: Imagine having to flee your home country and live in a refugee camp for years, maybe even decades.
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Yangon: Two of the world’s most secretive nations, military-run Myanmar and communist North Korea, agreed here Thursday to restore diplomatic ties in a move analysts say may help them bypass Western sanctions.
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Seoul: Human rights campaigners cautioned Thursday that an agreement by Myanmar and North Korea to restore diplomatic relations must not lead to further repression in their secretive nations.
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Yangon: The United Nations Thursday condemned last week’s brutal assault on rights activists in military-run Myanmar, saying it was reminiscent of a 2003 attack on pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Burma’s military government has been “manipulating development programs” in the country as part of a strategy to expand its military control and to further abuse villagers in Karen State, a report released Tuesday said.
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April 23: The Burmese special police launched a violent crackdown on a group of nine protestors in Rangoon yesterday, bashing and arresting several people, according to eyewitnesses.
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Food prices in military-run Myanmar have soared over the past year, a report said Tuesday, putting economic strain on residents already struggling with continuing inflation.
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First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Lieutenant-General Thein Sein met with visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Tuesday, a state radio and television reported.
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At least four skirmish broke out on Tuesday morning between the Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Karen National Union, and Karen splinter groups aligned with Burma’s ruling junta, according to KNLA sources.
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Three dams slated to be constructed on the Salween River on the Thai-Myanmar border would create an “inland sea” that would cut off the Karen insurgency’s supply route and block refugees from escaping into Thailand, the Karen Human Rights Group said Tuesday.
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