Burma’s leading opposition party marked its 21st anniversary Sunday by calling on the country’s military regime to free its detained leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Bangkok — Myanmar’s junta has not yet fixed the dates for elections in 2010 but the opposition is already debating whether to boycott them and lose all influence or take part in what critics say is a sham. (more…)

Two years after the Saffron Revolution, Burma’s ruling regime is showing no signs of relenting in its efforts to suppress dissent among the country’s 400,000 Buddhist monks. (more…)

Nay Pyi Daw — Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Than Shwe saw off Prime Minister General Thein Sein who left here for the United States of America by air at 1 pm today to attend the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations, at Nay Pyi Taw Airport. (more…)

Umphang, Thailand– Trouble is brewing among the refugees of Burma’s civil war. Stranded in northern Thailand, fed on rations donated by the international community, unable to travel freely and not allowed to work, tensions among refugees in camps strung out along Burma’s border are ready to blow. (more…)

Sydney — Australian budget airline Jetstar defended its flights into Myanmar on Monday after rights campaigners said the service was helping prop up the country’s military regime. (more…)

United Nations — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged a ministerial meeting of southeast Asian nations late Saturday to take a tougher line with fellow member Myanmar in hopes its military junta will free political prisoners and hold fair elections. (more…)

United Nations – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on Myanmar to “create the necessary conditions for credible and inclusive elections, including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.” (more…)

New Delhi – Burmese activists in New York on Monday threw shoes at visiting Foreign Minister Nyan Win, an act of opposition against his representation of the Southeast Asian nation at the 64th United Nations General Assembly. (more…)

Washington — The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Monday that direct U.S. engagement with Myanmar’s military leaders could provide crucial answers on the junta’s dealings with North Korea. (more…)

United Nations — The highest-ranking official from Myanmar’s military government to appear before the U.N. General Assembly in 14 years lashed out Monday against Western sanctions on his country, but promised to take “systematic steps to hold free and fair elections” next year. (more…)

Hong Kong — The U.S. decision to engage with Myanmar’s generals is a recognition of reality, however brutal. Years of sanctions have failed. Emotional support for the jailed opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and admiration for the bravery of the monks who challenged the regime in 2007 have come up against harsh facts. (more…)

HAVING SPENT much of a year reviewing U.S. policy toward Burma, the Obama administration soon will unveil a reasonable new strategy, as far as it goes. It doesn’t yet go far enough, however. (more…)

Washington, DC – A leading United States-based human rights organization today welcomed the Obama Administration’s decision to maintain existing sanctions on Burma, as well as pursue further sanctions as circumstances warrant.  The State Department said that unilaterally lifting sanctions would send the wrong signal to Burma’s military regime, and that sanctions would only be lifted if the regime makes concrete changes. (more…)