Local Burmese military authorities in Arakan State have been conducting military training for its thugs, including members of the USDA, Fire Service, Swan Arr Shin, and people’s militias, with the intent of using the forces to aid their victory in the referendum, said one villager who participated in the training but refused to be named. (more…)

Special commissions, including members of the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), are touring Burma informing local residents about the upcoming constitutional referendum, according to sources close to local authorities in upper Burma. (more…)

A leading human rights activist has been attacked by two unidentified men in Rangoon, according to dissident sources. (more…)

The Burmese military junta supports the Chinese government and is opposed to the Tibetan movement, according to a statement in state-run-newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on Thursday. (more…)

Myint Thein, spokesman of Burma’s largest opposition party – the National League for Democracy – died this afternoon at a hospital in Singapore, party members said. (more…)

In an address to military personnel and dignitaries, Senior General Than Shwe linked today’s Burmese armed forces with the battles of Burma’s dead kings in a war against imperialism and regressive policies. (more…)

Prome township police seized firearms and explosives on Tuesday afternoon in a raid on the home of a bamboo shop owner in Koe Thaung ward, locals said. (more…)

National League for Democracy members and veteran politicians held celebrations in Rangoon, Mandalay and Magwe yesterday to mark the 63rd anniversary of Anti-Fascist Revolution Day. (more…)

A security post at Manipur-Myanmar border was attacked by insurgents but no casualty was reported, official reports said on Friday. (more…)

70 Burmese nationals were detained on Tuesday by a Bangladesh Rifles force on the border in Teknaf of southern Bangladesh as they were attempting to enter Bangladesh territory for refuge, reports a local newspaper from Cox’s Bazar. (more…)

Maungdaw, Arakan state: Police in Bawli Bazaar camp in Maungdaw Township arrested villagers on false charges and extorted money without batting an eye lid and lack of fear of higher authorities. (more…)

In an indication that India’s attempt to develop an alternative route to the northeast from Myanmar is nearing fruition, the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the sanctioning of funds for upgrading Myanmar’s Sittwe port and Kaladan waterway as well as construction of a road up to the India-Myanmar border. The allocation of Rs. 535.91 crore under the ‘aid to Myanmar’ route will also cater to the construction and improvement of a 117-km road from the Myanmar border to National Highway 54. (more…)

The people of Myanmar have long been fighting the military rule existing in their country, long been under the threat of civil war. The neighbours should now at least lend a helping hand in Myanmar’s transition from military rule to democracy. (more…)

Thirteen Arakanese in exile, including five monks, started on a long march Thursday from the Bangladesh capital Dhaka to the southern town of Cox’s Bazar, to rally Burmese people to oppose the upcoming referendum. The distance between Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar is 245 miles. (more…)

The U.N. Human Rights Council unanimously condemned Myanmar on Friday for what it called “systematic violations” of fundamental freedoms six months after the country’s repression of monk-led protests. (more…)

After violently suppressing anti-government marches last year, Burma’s ruling generals are hunt­ing a new enemy in the dilapidated city of Rangoon, zeroing in on street vendors who sell pirated DVDs. The object of the junta’s wrath is the latest Rambo film, in which the Vietnam veteran played by Sylvester Stallone battles Burmese soldiers to rescue missionaries held for assisting persecuted ethnic minorities. (more…)

It was Hannah Arendt who wrote that “Under conditions of tyranny, it is easier to act than to think.” While none would accuse Burma’s Saffron Revolution of being unthinking, the sense of those words hold true. There is a time when thoughts must give way to action. (more…)

Remember Myanmar? Small Asian country. Formerly known as Burma. Buddhist. Ruled by a vicious junta. (more…)

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today welcomed the British Government’s decision to support a UN arms embargo on Burma. (more…)

NAY PYI TAW, 27 March – The following is the full text of the speech delivered by Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, at the 63rd Anniversary Armed Forces Day Parade today. (more…)