Pyinkayaing – Water scarcity has become a daily challenge in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwaddy Delta in the dry season, with thousands still struggling after damage to water sources by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. (more…)

Beijing – China said Tuesday it hoped Myanmar’s elections later this year would lead to national reconciliation and announced Premier Wen Jiabao would visit the country this month. (more…)

International sanctions and domestic pressure should be combined to push for democracy reform that will lead to reconciliation in the military-ruled Myanmar, activists at an international forum said here Monday. (more…)

In a surprising report last month to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on human rights Tomás Quintana recommended an official “commission of inquiry” into possible crimes against humanity and war crimes in military-ruled Burma (Myanmar). (more…)

When a widely circulated newspaper like the New York Times picks up the matter of ill-treatment of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, it is no small matter. It is a matter of grievous concern and shame to tens of thousands of Bangladeshi-Americans who live in and around the Big Apple state. In its February 20 publication the headline read, “Burmese Refugees Persecuted in Bangladesh.” It said, “Stateless refugees from Myanmar are suffering beatings and deportation in Bangladesh, according to aid workers and rights groups who say thousands are crowding into a squalid camp where they face starvation and disease.” It described the situation as a humanitarian crisis. (more…)

At the end of the 16th ASEAN Summit in the Vietnamese capital Ha Noi on April 9, the Chairman of ASEAN Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung called on Burma/Myanmar to stick to its “road map to democracy” and hold free, fair and inclusive elections. (more…)