New Delhi – Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama urged Burmese pro-democracy activists to continue their struggle for democracy through non-violent means. He said the struggle for the Burmese and the Tibetan people were both hard and arduous. (more…)

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will pay her first visit to Burma in early October, amid rumors that her trip will include meetings not only with President Thein Sein and other senior officials, but also with pro-democracy Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

For the last several years, there has been rumors and speculation that Burma’s military junta was attempting to secretly build or acquire a nuclear weapon. But now the country’s new quasi-civilian government is unapologetically charging ahead with the construction of a potential weapon of mass destruction right in front of everybody’s eyes—the Myitsone Dam. (more…)

Whenever two existential threats—economic deprivation and violation of dignity—merge and hurt  society, the people of Burma revolt. Thus the construction of a massive hydro-power dam at Myitsone, where the Maykha and Malikha rivers meet to become the mighty Irrawaddy, mainly to serve China’s energy needs, has spawned a “Save the Irrawaddy” campaign that has become an unprecedented rallying ground for the people of Burma to take contentious action against a new regime. (more…)

Burma’s government has pledged change, and there are signs something is really happening. But there are ways to measure the regime’s progress toward democracy. (more…)

The reforms initiated by President Thein Sein should be welcomed and supported, instead of the regime being criticised for what it still needs to achieve. At least that’s the message given by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in its latest report on Burma – a wholly misguided one, given that the government has so far done nothing that is praiseworthy and that guarantees the rights, equality and freedoms of the people, regardless of their ethnic origins or religions. (more…)

Several ‘Save the Irrawaddy’ events took place around Rangoon on Friday with well-known singers and poets entertaining crowds while environmentalists and NGOs conducted workshops and seminars to promote the issue. (more…)

Rangoon – National League for Democracy (NLD) Vice Chairman Tin Oo says it’s sad that Burma’s new government doesn’t cooperate with the NLD in its charity work, but often hinders its efforts. (more…)

Rai Maroah – The Mon State government is planning to discuss peace with the New Mon State Party (NMSP), a Mon political armed group, with the help of honorary mediators. (more…)

Chiang Mai – An important source for medical and health services for Burmese refugees and migrant workers, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has announced it will withdraw its services in Thailand. No date was given when the announcement was made in Bangkok on Tuesday. (more…)

Washington—Burma’s economic growth is expected to be 8.8 percent this year, the country’s finance minister, Hla Tun, told the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on Friday as he thanked the IMF for technical assistance in the area of exchange rate management and said that reforms are forthcoming. (more…)

Yangon – Myanmar official media Friday vowed on Friday that the country would actively take part in activities of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) as a permanent member. (more…)

A Washington DC-based collective will protest in front of Burmese embassies in the US capital tomorrow to demand the release of jailed poets in Burma. (more…)

The issue surrounding the release of political prisoners has been set as a benchmark for Burma’s political progress under the nominally civilian administration in Naypyidaw. It has been commonly understood that Burma is currently detaining more than 2,000 political dissidents—a figure that relies mainly on data collected by the exiled Assistance Association for Political Prisoners- Burma (AAPP). (more…)

When I first visited Burma, on Sept. 17, 1988, it was to report on a massive popular uprising and what I thought would be the advent of democracy in a country that even then had been under the heel of the military for 26 years. (more…)

Even the most unreformed of rulers like to pose as reformers. But Myanmar’s new regime has genuine reasons to persuade critics at home and abroad that it is serious about some reforms. The first ever meeting between Thein Sein, the “civilian” president, and Aung San Suu Kyi is part of the government’s strategy to project itself and the country in a new light. Ms Suu Kyi has no official standing and her party did not take part in the rigged elections that supposedly ended the military rule in Myanmar. In fact, her party, the National League for Democracy, does not even recognize the constitution which the previous military rulers imposed on the country through a fake referendum. Yet, Mr Sein not only met Ms Suu Kyi but also relaxed some of the restrictions on her political activities. The president has appealed to exiled dissidents to return home too. Besides, the government has shown more openness towards allowing representatives of foreign governments and institutions to visit Myanmar and hold talks with Ms Suu Kyi. All this is clearly aimed at winning legitimacy for a government whose democratic claims are not taken seriously by foreign powers and independent observers. After all, the new rulers are all old soldiers in civilian clothing. (more…)

MYITSONE, MYANMAR — The massive dam under construction in this remote corner of Myanmar is generating a litany of concerns that are not uncommon to such projects: about the risks of tampering with nature, about damage to wildlife, about the displacement of villagers. (more…)

An art exhibition held in Rangoon on Thursday morning to promote a public campaign to save the Irrawaddy River attracted about 1,000 people including well-known writers, actors, politicians, environmentalists and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (more…)

Chiang Mai – MPs discussed a problem of central government health workers in the highlands of Chin State stopping work before the end of their full terms, because of claims of poor roads and insufficient pay. (more…)

Civil servants who were withdrawn from the autonomous Wa state area of eastern Burma in April last year may be allowed to return following negotiations between the central government and the United Wa State Army. (more…)