While many political campaigners in Burma are calling for a “No” vote in the forthcoming referendum, the United Nationalities League for Democracy (UNLD) is calling for a complete boycott of the polls on May 10. (more…)

The notion of political transition initiated by a country’s elite has been a dominant discourse in Burmese politics since the late 1990s. The model advocates that a peaceful transition can be facilitated by negotiations between the regime’s “doves” and opposition moderates. It would involve the opposition initiating a concrete proposal to the military in order to persuade the latter to sit at the negotiating table. (more…)

Burma’s junta chief urged workers on Thursday to approve a draft constitution in the upcoming referendum while the main opposition party implored them to reject the document, which critics call a sham intended to cement military rule. (more…)

Factories in Rangoon industrial zones have been ordered to arrange special polling stations for their workers by the Burmese military junta authorities. (more…)

As the country prepares to vote in a discredited referendum, Rachel Aspden visits the forgotten Burmese resistance – the eastern ethnic groups promised independence 60 years ago. (more…)

Over 60 lucky survivors from among the illegal Burmese migrant workers from the road mishap in Thailand will be deported back to Burma soon. (more…)

A cyclone is moving towards Burma, but it has the people of Bangladesh on edge, as well. Nargis is the first cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal since Sidr, which killed thousands of people in Bangladesh, last November. News of the approaching cyclone is already causing some alarmed Bangladeshis to take cover. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from our South Asia Bureau in New Delhi. (more…)

Burmese workers joined May Day celebrations today. They joined marches and staged protests against human rights violations in Bangkok this morning along with hundreds of Thai workers. (more…)

The founder of one of the world’s largest travel publishing companies defended its much-criticized guide to Myanmar on Thursday, saying tourists going to the military-ruled country are doing more good than bad. (more…)

Celebs are trying a new tactic to win the freedom of Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Can their viral video possibly have an impact? (more…)

Burmese go to the polls next week to vote on a new constitution, but their ballots won’t matter much. The document on offer from the military junta isn’t meant to empower the people – it’s for their rulers. If there’s any good news here, it’s that this farce may spark another march for freedom. (more…)

Discussions with visiting Burmese prime minister unlikely to include any controversial subjects. (more…)

Burma’s May 10 referendum on a new constitution is a sham process aimed at entrenching the military, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. (more…)

The Seven Alliances, a united front of Burmese umbrella organizations representing the majority of ethnic and pro-democracy groups in exile, today predicted with some certainty that the military regime in Burma will rig the results of the forthcoming constitutional referendum on 10 May, deceiving the people of Burma once again. (more…)

A draconian campaign by Burma’s military to grow eight million acres of the Jatropha curcas tree for biofuel production is resulting in forced labor and land confiscation throughout the country, while evidence of crop failure and mismanagement expose the program as a fiasco. (more…)

Myanmar is deliberating to designate Singapore dollar and Chinese Renminbi yuan as main currencies in its foreign trade transactions in order to facilitate such undertakings of the country, leading local weekly the Yangon Times reported Wednesday. (more…)

Burma’s junta chief urged workers on Thursday to approve a draft constitution in the upcoming referendum while the main opposition party implored them to reject the document, which critics call a sham intended to cement military rule. (more…)