Statement before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Washington, DC – Mr. Chairman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify about U.S. policy toward Burma and a possible new direction for U.S.-Burma relations. (more…)

New Delhi – The Charge d’Affaires from the United States Embassy in Rangoon on Tuesday met with leaders from Burma’s primary opposition party – National League for Democracy – to discuss the US’s new policy vis-à-vis Burma, according to the NLD. (more…)

Dhaka — Bangladesh, which is locked in a border conflict with its eastern neighbour, has alleged that Myanmar Navy Monday attacked its fishermen. Dhaka plans to lodge a formal protest with Yangon. (more…)

More than 100 Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) soldiers have defected to the Karen National Union (KNU) since June, following fighting and DKBA forced recruitment, according to Karen sources. (more…)

One of the Burmese military government’s leading generals, Secretary 1 Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, flew to Nanning in southern China on Monday, the first official visit between the two countries since the Kokang conflict in August sent some 37,000 refugees flooding into Yunnan Province. (more…)

A Kachin ceasefire group in northern Burma has sent a number of cadets to train with the Burmese army in lieu of becoming a border guard force, a former spokesperson said. (more…)

Yangon — Myanmar and Thailand will construct another friendship bridge to connect two border trade towns of the two countries to boost bilateral trade, sources with the Union of Myanmar Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) said on Tuesday. (more…)

Singapore – Myanmar has scuttled a plan by fellow ASEAN members to issue a public appeal seeking amnesty for detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, a diplomatic source said Tuesday. (more…)

Bangkok — Southeast Asian nations unveil a landmark human rights watchdog this week, but critics charge that it will be both toothless and include in its membership one of the world’s worst human rights offenders — military-ruled Myanmar. (more…)

Burmese exile Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will have their own representative at the 15th Asean Summit to be held at Hua Hin this weekend after pro Burmese government NGOs said they did not wish their representative to discuss human rights issues, according to participants at the final day of the Asean People’s Forum in Cha-am on Tuesday. (more…)

Bangkok – The European Union has announced an expansion of its aid programme to Burma, reinforcing a western trend towards engagement with the country. (more…)

The sentencing of Burmese journalists and bloggers in September last year has pushed the country another spot lower in an annual press freedom index. (more…)

While the government of Burma was releasing a few wrongly detained persons from its jails in September, authorities were arresting and prosecuting more. In this appeal the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) brings you the details of the case against three persons who have been illegally detained for allegedly receiving money from a group based abroad, and who were being tried without evidence, even as the prisoner release was going on. (more…)

Twelve farmers in central Burma have been sentenced to up to five years imprisonment with hard labour on trespassing charges after returning to work on land confiscated by the government. (more…)

Locals in a town in central Burma say they have been warned by government troops not to leak news about a tunnel being built by the military or their villages will be razed. (more…)

A leading Burmese activist, Min Ko Naing (aka Paw Oo Tun), celebrated his 47th birthday in Shan State’s Kengtung Prison on Sunday. (more…)

Earlier this year, a colourful leaflet written in Burmese script, began circulating in Samut Sakhon, Mae Sot, Rayong and migrant communities all over Thailand. (more…)

Beijing – China and Myanmar agreed on Monday to work together to ensure stability along their border, state media said, after violence erupted on the Myanmar side in August that pushed thousands of refugees into China. (more…)

Myanmar has witnessed the development of more international resort hotels to attract foreign travellers to the country and boost tourism development. (more…)

Yangon — Myanmar’s prime minister, General Thein Sein, will attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Thailand this week, an official announced Monday. (more…)