The party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has requested a change in the wording of the oath that lawmakers have to take, presenting a potential hurdle to her taking up the parliamentary seat she won this month.

The National League for Democracy has asked the authorities to adjust the wording of the oath to say that parliamentarians will “abide by the law” rather than “protect the constitution,” Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party, said Wednesday.
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Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is planning to travel abroad for the first time in 24 years, officials say.

The Norwegian foreign ministry said she was expected to visit Norway in June. (more…)

The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) is travelling to Karenni state to talk with locals about the peace-process ahead of union-level talks with the government.

Three delegations are travelling to Loikaw, Demoso and Hpruso townships today to gather public feedback on the initial ceasefire agreement brokered with the government on 7 March in the Karenni capital Loikaw. (more…)

Forty-two members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) deserted to the Burmese military on Monday, state-run media has reported.

The men apparently left their positions to surrender the government’s Infantry Battalion 37 at Tarlawgyi Village of the Kachin State capital Myitkyina with their weapons.
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“What autonomy do Nagas want more than they have received during 25 years of Tangkhul CM in Manipur”: Khaplang

Kohima, April 17 2012: NSCN (K) is all set to sign a bilateral cease-fire with the Myanmar government in the later part of this month.
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China has been praised for its successful economic development after adopting a market economy.

It has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy. Now Myanmar has started to open up to the world. It will be interesting to see how the country performs. (more…)

Myanmar President Thein Sein will make a five-day trip to Japan starting this weekend, marking the first visit to the country by a leader of the Southeast Asian nation in nearly three decades, while opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is planning to make in June her first visits overseas—to Norway and the U.K.—since 1989. (more…)

The US has eased sanctions on Myanmar to allow humanitarian and religious groups to operate in the country, the first reward from Washington as the south-east Asian nation moves towards democracy after decades of military rule.

It comes as a host of countries – including the UK and Australia – move on to friendlier footing with Myanmar after elections that saw democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament.
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The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday authorized certain financial transactions in support of humanitarian, religious, and other not-for-profit activities in Myanmar as relations between the two countries continue to thaw.

The Treasury Department issued a general license Tuesday permitting U.S. citizens and financial institutions to engage in a limited range of financial transactions in Myanmar. But the licenses didn’t lift wider sanctions on the export of other goods and financial services to the Southeast Asian country. (more…)

The European Union will ease more sanctions on Burma early next week, E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Tuesday.

The EU was widely expected to authorize investments and imports of sensitive products but the lifting of an arms embargo does not seem to be on the agenda, said an article in Agence France Presse. (more…)

When Aung San Suu Kyi spoke to the crowds of cheering supporters outside the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon on April 2, she rightly passed the credit for her election victory back to the Burmese people.
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