“Burmese soldiers killed my parents, my brother and sister, and my uncle after they forced him to watch them rape his wife. If soldiers are able to use forced labor, sexual violence, forced relocation and other abuses as mechanisms of domination, why should President Obama reward President Thein Sein?”
– Myra Dahgaypaw, Letter to the Editor, New York Times, October 6, 2011

After being released on Wednesday from the remote Myitkyina Prison in northern Burma, the comedian cum activist known as Zarganar was put on a flight back to Rangoon. Within minutes after his arrival at the airport, he was lampooning President Thein Sein’s new “reformist” initiatives, describing them as the equivalent of “applying make-up to a paralyzed old woman and sending her out into the street.” (more…)

The Burmese youth activist group, Generation Wave, on October 9, 2011 celebrated its fourth anniversary of the founding of the organization in Rangoon, Burma. (more…)

Burma will greatly increase its assistance to migrants working in Thailand, following three days of talks in Bangkok between a delegation of Burmese officials and Thailand’s labour minister, Phadoemchai Sasomsap. (more…)

Yangon – In a remote prison in Myanmar’s northernmost state, comedian and dissident Maung Thura nearly lost touch with the world. His parents died. He was forbidden contact with relatives for more than a year. (more…)

New Delhi – The Indian government announced a US $ 500 million credit line for developmental projects and agreed to expand security cooperation with Burma. At the conclusion of Burmese President Thein Sein’s four-day visit, Burmese and Indian leaders also agreed to strengthen economic, agricultural, energy, education and security ties. (more…)

Skeptics can call it cosmetic change, but the positive trend in Myanmar has prompted many to score a victory for ASEAN’s “constructive engagement” after years of tireless effort from Indonesia, the current chair of the 10-member group. (more…)

Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said Friday he would visit Myanmar at the end of the month to assess the country’s reform efforts. (more…)

Tokyo – Myanmar’s foreign minister will visit Japan next week in another sign that one of the world’s most isolated states is beginning to open up after it freed hundreds of political prisoners this week. (more…)

New Delhi—Burmese activists in India have condemned the welcome given to President Thein Sein by the Indian government and have urged New Delhi to deal cautiously with the new government while no genuine changes have materialized. (more…)

New Delhi – Democratic reforms in Myanmar have made it easier for India, the world’s largest democracy, to engage with its smaller neighbour, until recently a military dictatorship. (more…)

Myanmar has freed about 200 political prisoners, the latest in a series of moves by the new civilian government that point to long-awaited reforms in one of the world’s poorest, most corrupt and tightly controlled countries. (more…)

When generals take off their uniforms, put on civilian suits and then get themselves voted into a new government with the most proven popular alternatives disqualified from running, there is bound to be scepticism that it means any real change. (more…)

Compared to past prisoner amnesties in Burma, the figures at the close of play on Wednesday left little to be jubilant about: of the total released, only 3.4 percent were political prisoners; in the amnesty in May this year, it was 0.1 percent, and in July 2005, 75 percent. So it’s hardly an anomaly. Not to be put out, however, the International Crisis Group’s Jim Della-Giacoma wrote in Foreign Policy magazine yesterday that “it is the quality as much as the quantity that is significant”. (more…)

THERE is some basis for scepticism surrounding Myanmar’s recent release of 300 political prisoners. The move still leaves about 2,000 behind bars. There is no assurance that it is not a shadow play to secure the 2014 Asean chairmanship. In the months ahead, hardliners in the military will also resist any form of political reform that would compromise their positions. Weary Myanmar watchers will also point out that previous reform and openings were only followed by subsequent crackdowns. (more…)