Aung San Suu Kyi’s debut in the Burmese Parliament on Monday may be determined by the government’s willingness – and ability – to find a compromise to a dispute over one word in the Constitution.
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Burma is changing. On April 1, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi led the opposition National League for Democracy to victory in by-elections hailed as a landmark for the Southeast Asian nation. The win capped a raft of other shifts since the country’s military rulers ceded power to a quasi-civilian government last year. President U Thein Sein—a former general and one of this year’s TIME 100 honorees—has freed selected political prisoners, loosened the state’s grip on the media and signed peace agreements with ethnic rebels. But there are exceptions to the positive news from the country, notably the ongoing conflict in Kachin State. (more…)

Fifty monks from several monasteries in northern Shan state are being forced off their land by the government’s religious authorities under a claim that they are situated in an army zone.

Ten monasteries on Myasein Hill were sent eviction orders by the local government-backed Head Monk Committee on 27 March, instructing them to leave by the end of April. (more…)

Washington – As multilateral lending agencies prepare to seriously re- engage with Myanmar for the first time in decades, observers at the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are warning that a poor understanding of ground conditions in the country could jeopardise many of the early opportunities created by government-initiated reforms.
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They live in areas under Burmese government control, but they cheer the government’s enemy?the Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic armed group that has fought for greater ethnic autonomy for more than half a century.
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Thousand of refugees in Thailand could soon begin to return home as regional authorities initiate resettlement proceedings in Karen state, according to local officials.

Government authorities in Karen state’s Myawaddy border district travelled to territory held by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army [DKBA] this week to identify possible resettlement locations for Thailand-based refugees. (more…)

Japan is to waive Burma’s 300 billion yen ($3.7 billion) debt and plans to resume suspended assistance to the country, a report said on Thursday.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is expected to announce the debt waiver during a planned meeting with Burma’s President Thein Sein on Saturday in Tokyo, the evening edition of the Asahi Shimbun reported. (more…)

A business conference titled The New Myanmar Investment Summit 2012 will be held on June 20-21 in Rangoon focusing on “Business Strategies in the Emerging Tiger Economy.”

The conference will look at the Foreign Investment Law Amendment Bill and offer insights into recent changes in the investment landscape and business regulations including: (more…)

More than 200,000 Burmese workers could be hired to fill positions in Thailand under a direct statetostate agreement if the measure is approved at a bilateral meeting next month in Burma, an adviser to the Thai Labour Ministry said yesterday.
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India and China are both eager to be the first Asian country to have Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi pay a visit, according to an article in The Times of India this week.

Both countries are also trying to maintain and establish closer economic and political ties with Burma, which is strategically located between the two Asian giants. (more…)

President Thein Sein begins his state visit to Japan on Friday, a country with strong historic and economic links to Burma. Yet Japan is also struggling to find a solution to the issue of Burmese asylum seekers on its own soil. (more…)

TIME’s Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2012 has a surprising inclusion this year?Burmese President Thein Sein.

The reform-minded former junta general has won the accolades of the prestigious publication’s editors, with national pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi missing out despite being included three times in recent years. (more…)

Washington — The United States invited Myanmar’s foreign minister and said Wednesday that democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who is traveling abroad for the first time in decades, had an “open invitation.”

The United States said that Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, who held talks in Washington last year after attending UN meetings in New York, would pay a more formal visit next month as part of US efforts to encourage reforms.
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European Union diplomats have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement to suspend sanctions against Burma for a year, opening up trade and investment with Western firms.

The move comes after 18 months in which Burma’s military junta, which has ruled the country with an iron fist for 50 years, have introduced a swathe of democratic reforms. (more…)

As multilateral lending agencies prepare to seriously re-engage with Myanmar for the first time in decades, observers at the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are warning that a poor understanding of ground conditions in the country could jeopardize many of the early opportunities created by government-initiated reforms.
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The opposition National League for Democracy’s virtual sweep of 43 out of 44 MP seats in Myanmar’s recent by-elections was a long time coming. (more…)

“We pray that Aung San Suu Kyi and her country are now on a path to freedom”
– Desmond Tutu
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